Time Seizure
by James Kev
Summary: After choosing to save Chloe over Arcadia Bay, Max's powers take a dark turn as they inflict massive seizures that threaten her life. With the help of a mysterious entity in the form of a glowing doe, it is up to Chloe to save her best friend from a fate worse than death. Nothing will be the same again.
1. Chapter 1

**COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER: I don't own ANY characters in this story! All rights belong to Dontnod Entertainment!**

* * *

 **Time Seizure**

 **Chapter 1**

"Max… it's time."

Dread unfurled through her body as she stood on the cliff next to the lighthouse, watching the menacing tornado creep closer towards Arcadia Bay, a monster _she_ created. Everything that happened, all the death and destruction, was her fault. All she had to do to undo her mistakes was to go back in time through her photo, the one she took of the blue butterfly in the girl's bathroom back in Blackwell and…

Max squints hard in contempt. She couldn't even _mentally_ put the words together what she had to do.

Standing right beside her was none other than the reason for all her decisions, Chloe Price. Her best friend, her partner in crime, whom hadn't always been the most pleasant of individuals, especially to her, was now offering her life in exchange for everyone else.

After everything they had been through, their reunion, their fun, their fights, their adventures, and every other nook-and-cranny of moments they had shared up until this moment… all of it had to be _erased_ for the 'greater good'.

 _No._

 _It can't be._

After all this… is she _really_ supposed to just let her die, believing Max had abandoned her? Is she meant to die, not knowing what happened to Rachel? Believing she had NO ONE? To just let her bleed to death in some smelly old bathroom, with _Nathan Prescott_ standing over her?

"IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT!?"

The bluenette standing by Max flinched at her sudden outburst. She wasn't yelling at her, but rather at the storm, or whoever up there was the twister mastermind of all this.

The brunette stared outward, panting in fury, the photo clenched in one of her fists. Choosing to say nothing out of fear that it would sway her decision, Chloe waited. It _had_ to be this way.

"No…" she heard her mutter.

Before Chloe was given even a second to process what Max meant, Max tore up the photo and let the wind carry it away.

"Max!"

"This is MY timeline!" Max cried, eyes welling.

Chloe froze in shock, and Max followed suit. It didn't take long let sink what she had just done; she had denied Chloe her original fate to let her live… at the expense of everyone else… just to save her.

She should have felt a surge of rage that Max decided to sacrifice all her friends that are surely down there, as well as her family. Instead, what she felt was fear, regret and… _relief_?

The tornado had finally breached the shore, and only continued to move inland to begin its massacre. Everything in its path was kicked up, ripped open, turned over, and dismantled.

When the realization of how many people that she condemned could be down there, the time-bender's anger and triumph at her defiance were replaced with horror and regret.

 _What have you done?_

Without turning to face her friend, she could imagine those same exact words spiraling madly in her head as well, just like the tornado. She can't look at her now. She had lost her anyway for sure now. She would never forgive her for this.

"I'm sorry." she mustered the courage to say, still without looking at her, her timid voice drowned by the wind, yet was heard.

Max drops to her knees and wails, grief overpowering her. Her screeching alone pierced Chloe more than any noise the storm could offer, and it was unbearable to listen to.

After a moment of hesitation, Chloe closed their gap of uncertainty by embracing her from behind, resting her head on Max's shoulder to provide whatever comfort she can in the wake of all this.

"It's okay, Max."

"No…" Max shook her head.

"I'm here. _Still_ here."

Max just continued to sob loudly to try and mask the distant sound of the town getting torn apart, possibly masking the screams of those lives being ripped from them simultaneously.

Something in the back of her mind was telling her that a price would still have to be paid… just not with Chloe anymore.

* * *

The morning after the storm, Arcadia Bay was left a scrambled landfill of what it once was. Bodies sprawled, vehicles overturned, houses scalped, and all sorts of other structured chucked where they shouldn't be; in fact, nothing here was where it belonged anymore.

"Max?"

Max jolted from her daze to squint up at Chloe sitting next to her in their pickup truck; her friend had been driving them through this muddle. Throughout the whole trip, Chloe stayed focused on the road, hell-bent on finding any survivors, whereas Max was elsewhere; she had been uncomfortably quiet since the storm had passed. Her friend didn't like this demeanor.

Once they had come across a roadblock made by a timbered utility pole, Chloe stopped her truck and set it to park. She rested a hand on her forehead, tired, frustrated and worried.

Max appeared as though she hadn't slept for a week now, and who could blame her? Looking at her friend now, it's like all the colours had been sucked dry out of her. She had to reach out; they needed each other more than either could yet realize.

"Max… there could still be some people." Chloe placed a hand on her shoulder, but felt her tense up.

"Some people…" Max was like a shivering stowaway, "out of how many?"

"We can't lose hope." Chloe reassured her, though actually half-believing her own words. "For all we know, my mom and… step-dad… could still be alive, holed up in the Two-Whales. Heck, _Warren_ could even be there."

Max sighed and managed to ease to her touch a bit. She also managed a small nod as well.

"Look at me, Baymax."

Taken a little by surprise at her nickname, Max turned to finally lock eyes with her, and suddenly, she found herself lost in the warmth of her blue ones. She remembered now why she made this choice.

Chloe too took comfort in the faint smile that eventually formed itself on her best friend as she chuckled at her new nickname.

"Lean on me."

Automatically, Max lowered her head on the punk's shoulder, the one with her sexy tattoos. She felt her pain subsiding, and that was good enough for now.

* * *

Somewhere else, away yet not too far from Arcadia Bay, something else manifested in the flattened woods where the tornado had finally, mercifully, ended its path of destruction.

A glowing matter, the colour of amber in its dead center, expanded and grew tendrils that formed two pairs of legs, then a body, and then a head, which then formed ears. Its birth wasn't pleasant. Rather, it was jittery and unstable.

The aura finished and had taken the form of what appears to be a doe.

It lingered momentarily to stretch its back, neck, and legs, and then proceeded away from the deforested site. It was drawn to a source of power that felt somewhat familiar to this being, and it was going to seek it out.

Eventually, the amber doe found a road passing through the trees and decided to follow this route, as if knowing it would lead where it desired. Shortly enough, it passed a sign that read, _You are now 5km from Arcadia Bay_.

And as if it was an afterthought, a long blue feather materialized, hanging under the doe's right ear.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Unable to go further in their truck, the two girls continued their search on foot. Chloe lead the way while Max lagged behind.

The silence that filled the area was deafening. The only sounds that would accompany it were either the trickling of leaking drainage, the sizzling of torn power lines, the creaking of broken wood ready to break off of whatever structure it was part of, and the distant cawing of seagulls.

Max squinted up to see those birds gliding through the air like it was all fine up there, like they didn't have to worry about whatever situation was below them; Max envied them. This would have also normally been another good photo opportunity for her, but she neither had her camera, nor the spirit.

She was so focused on what was above her that she tripped over a piece of rubble on the road. Luckily, Chloe had noticed her stupor and caught her before she could hit the ground.

"Fucking hell, Max."

Chloe kept a hold of her for what felt like a minute. She was seriously starting to worry, like if she were to let go, her brunette would just lose balance again.

"You're looking hella like you're about to pass out."

"I'm fine." Max muttered.

"No you're not."

She faced Chloe again, her drained eyes trying to look reassuring. Her head was angled and wobbling like it could at any moment come loose off her neck.

Chloe cupped a hand on Max's cheek and gazed into her blue eyes with her own intensely.

"Come on, Mad Max, I know it's hard. I need you right now." She was now trying for the 'strong motivator' appeal.

"Chloe…"

"We're gonna find the Two Whales, okay?"

Max nodded rather timidly, but took in a deep breath to calm her nerves.

Right then, a sharp pain twisted in the side of Max's head, and she dug her sharp nails into her temple as she collapsed, groaning in agony.

"Max! What's wrong?" Chloe dove down to scoop her head off the ground. "Oh God!"

Fresh blood had begun pouring out of her nostrils again. It wasn't a moderate stream like usual, but it was like an aggressive running tap. It ran down her face to the underside of her chin, then down her neck, and dripped onto the pavement where it was already growing a puddle.

Max's vision blurred and shimmered next, much like it would whenever she bent time around her, only this time it was more aggressive. Looking up at Chloe's silhouetted face with the bright sky behind her, she looked mysteriously angelic. This glimpse shined upon her like another Polaroid she could capture add to her collection. Soon, everything went blinding white.

 _Overexposed_...

And then…

It passed.

The pain. All the bleeding. The brightness. It all receded.

Max came to as her vision steadily rendered back to normal. When it did, she could make out the image of Chloe cradling her face, her eyes bloodshot with tears, and her gaping mouth crumpled with grief. She was sobbing _hard_ , like her lungs were being squeezed.

Regaining some strength, Max lifted a hand to brush her cheek to let her know that she's fine now. As soon as Chloe realized as well, she hauled her into a bearhug and continued sobbing into her shoulder.

"You scared the hell out of me!"

"I'm… okay now, Chloe."

Chloe shook her head.

"It's not okay! This is my fault!"

"No, Chloe!" Max brought their faces together.

"It is! Did you use your powers again? Did I die again?" Looking into Chloe's puffy eyes broke her heart.

"I didn't! Not this time! Never again!"

Chloe settled down eventually.

"It just—happened." Max continued. "It—just came suddenly and—."

Max shook herself.

 _What's going on?_

She was stuttering now. Her brain was still fuzzy, probably still recovering.

"I thought you were having seizure." Chloe whimpered. "I thought I was about to lose you too."

Max narrowed her eyes, having regained some footing of determination.

"You won't—lose me! I won't leave—you!"

At that moment, Max lunged in to press her lips against Chloe's. Chloe was taken aback at first, but then eased into her kiss almost immediately; it was icy, yet warm. She pulled Max ever closer until their chests, their hearts, touched one another.

"I—love—you." Max managed to utter.

"Same to you, hippie."

Chloe leaned her forehead into Max's and combed her fingers through her rumpled hair. She wanted this to last forever, but both knew they had to get moving again.

* * *

After cleaning the blood off Max's face, they continued through the wasteland. Max was in front this time, leading the way, while Chloe stayed closely behind, monitoring her.

"I th—think we're almost there now."

Chloe hummed to her statement but said nothing. During the rest of the way, she almost hadn't taken her eyes off her friend. Since Max had that attack, her speech had become even more cluttered, and as for the way she was walking now... she was looking _unstable_.

Chloe herself was starting to tremble just from watching her.

 _What is happening to her? She wasn't like this before when she had her nosebleeds._

But this wasn't from her powers this time, as she claimed. How the hell would she know? Normally, her nosebleeds her just a minor hindrance from overusing her powers. This, however, was _surely_ different.

"Chloe? Max?"

Both girls shot up to see a middle-aged waitress revealing herself from the doorway of a ruined diner that they recognized all too well.

"Mom?" Chloe cried.

"Oh, thank God!"

Joyce darted after the girls to embrace them both, tears of joy flushing out.

"I'm so glad you're both okay!"

"I'm glad you're here too mom!"

The two teens returned the hug.

Max felt a wave of relief wash over her. Joyce was alive. That means others could have survived to.

Joyce released her death hold and turned first to Chloe.

"Where the hell were you?" Her voice was raised in a mixture of love and fury.

"We were at the lighthouse." Chloe said. "We were looking everywhere for you. Max saved my life."

Joyce turned to Max next, her eyes lit with pride and gratefulness. She checked the girl up and down like she was another daughter; looking at her face, she could sense that something was off, but she was too washed over with relief right now.

"The Lord truly did send a guardian angel, didn't he?"

Max bowed her head humbly while Chloe rolled her eyes.

"Did—anyone else m—make it?" Max finally asked.

Joyce too took at the strange way she delivered that question, but smiled reassuringly.

"Why don't you both come inside and see?"

With that answer, Joyce took the girls into the diner, away from the debris.

They were safe, but nothing in Max's guts gave the impression that they were out of the woods yet. Chloe felt that too.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

When the doe had reached Arcadia Bay at last, it paused to scan the mass destruction. Its featureless head tilted in way that made it appear like it was thinking.

This creature, or some compilation of _matter_ , had never set foot in this territory before, yet it seemed to know this place somehow. How? It didn't know, nor did it matter anyway.

The powerful energy it was attracted to was in much closer proximity now.

Right on queue, a blue butterfly flickered past the doe's ear from behind, the one with the blue feather, and continued forth into town. The doe, feeling somewhat of a connection to this beautifully winged insect, just knowingly decided to follow it.

* * *

Inside the Two Whales, Joyce had just off the phone with David, which remarkably was still working, whom had called to let her know that he was on his way to come get them.

He was alive, and so were others.

Frank was sitting behind the counter his canine friend, Pompidou, massaging behind the dog's ears soothingly.

Kate and Victoria had survived as well somehow; they were on the stools talking to each other, which was rare to see.

There were also some cops moving about casually in the area, just waiting for whatever help they can provide.

Max was slouched at her usual table, taking in this liberating sight with glazed eyes, her quivering mouth managing a faint smile; she felt a great weight being gently lifted off her shoulders, despite the bad shape she was in.

"Yes… this is good. This is right." She whispered to no one in particular.

Ever since that incident back out on the road, she had been numb. Everything was surreal to her, like her right mind wasn't in full control of everything she was doing at this second.

"Hey, Maximus."

Chloe sat down next to her, rather than opposite her like usual, and took Max's hand which was rested on the table _,_ only to find that she was shaking still.

She hesitated to ask. "How's my angel?"

Max releases a long-withheld sigh and leans against the diner window to briefly gape outside.

"Better."

"Still stuttering?"

Clearing her throat, Max straightened up to test out that matter.

"Peter P—Piper picked a—picked a pack of—Peter P—Piper—Pickles." It was hopeless. "Fuck, you can't be c—cereal!"

Max hammered in frustration while Chloe could only look on, feeling bad.

Joyce had been watching them over her shoulder and eventually over as well to sit with them on the opposite seat, her face wearing the same concern as her daughter's.

"Is something wrong, darling?"

"Yeah, Mom. I think she needs a doctor."

"I could see that from here. What's the problem?"

"I don't know." Words spun in the punk's head. "I think there's some… damage to her brain because of the storm."

Joyce furrowed in confusion. "What? Why? Did she have an accident?"

"Yeah…" Chloe nodded, "something like that. She needs help fast."

Chloe didn't know how she would explain the circumstances of Max's condition to the MEDs, and there was no way she could string up some alternative bullshit story; it was giving _her_ a headache too.

Max was about to plunk her head on the table, tempted to just pass out.

"Hang in there, Maxine. David will be here to get you help." Joyce assured, taking the sick girl's other hand.

Max raised her head at the woman with a mock-frown. "Max… never… M—Maxine."

Chloe smirked, glad to see that her friend was somewhat herself again.

* * *

The doe, lead by the butterfly, continued its stroll through the cluttered streets. It then halted in its tracks when it sensed the luring energy swelling up.

Curious to know what was happening, it focused intently for about a minute until its gaze then pierced through houses, through rubble, through everything, until it found the interior of a diner. It quickly spotted the source inside the body of a meager young girl who was sitting at one of the tables.

All this current of time-bending energy that called to it was coursing through her veins like a valley. Now most of it was all a coiling noisily mess inside her brain, trapped, panicked, and rattling for decampment. It was all going to blow up inside her soon, the doe realized, though the same could not be said for the host.

The butterfly flapped away shortly, leaving its follower to decide the rest of the way on its own.

As well as that, the homeless lady who regularly saw sitting behind the Two Whales Diner cruised by with a trolley, scavenging whatever leftovers she could find, when she froze before this _being_.

Her fingers hung loose from the handle as she was mesmerized by what she described as a God-like presence. She was seeing, yet hardly believing what her eyes her processing.

The aura bordering the doe's form gleamed like a blinding flare, which forced the lady to shield her face. Yet, she insists to see more and squints through her fingers. When her sight finally adjusted to this new brightness, there she saw its animal frame remolding itself to look more... _human._


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

A bit later, Max pushed herself up from the table and staggered over to the counter to see Kate and Victoria; she could barely step a footlong at this point.

"Max!" Kate waved to her delightedly.

"Hey, Kate. H—How are you doing?"

"Fine, I guess." The way she hunched and bowed her face gave a different answer.

"I'm glad you're okay." Max turned to Victoria, whom was giving her a charitable side glance. "Both of you."

"Thanks, Max." The blonde finally spoke. "I'm glad you're still alive too."

Max returns her a kind nod. She could see how humbled the _Queen Bee_ had become after the outbreak, though there were still traces of her usual self from her regal posture as she sat.

"Are you okay?" Victoria then asked her, showing a rare tinge of worry for her classmate.

Surprised, Max nodded again when she suddenly swayed back and stumbled, almost losing her own balance.

"Whoa, Max!" Kate almost hopped out of her seat when she thought her friend was going to fall down. "Have you had enough sleep? You look very tired."

Max waved it off while rubbing the throbbing in her forehead that resurfaced; she was now getting rather lightheaded and dripping with sweat.

Right then, it came back to her what she wanted to ask. "Did anyone else make it?"

Kate clawed her knees as she hung her head solemnly.

"Yeah, some others made it out. Brooke, Dana, Luke, Justin. Principal Wells is okay too. He's doing whatever he can to help the students and teachers."

"What about W—Warren?" Max grunted out. She especially wanted to know what happened to him.

Kate sniffled and heaved in a deep shuddered breath. Victoria too had her eyes cast down knowingly.

"He helped me… helped a lot of people to safety."

"What h—happened to him?" Max's own breaths were becoming shallower by the second. She _had_ to know.

Kate paused. She shook her head. She sucked in her lips. She wiped the moist off her lashes, and then struggled to look through them at Max directly.

Finally, from the bile in her throat, she forced out those two fateful words. "He's gone."

In a flash, Max's heart turned into ice. The joints in her bone went rigid. The roots in the back of her hair stiffened.

"What do you mean?" She gritted.

"He went home to be with our Lord."

"No!" Max cupped her mouth, her eyes bulging wide open in horror. She wanted to deny it.

"Warren's dead, Max." Victoria interjected.

"NO!" Max spun away from them, whimpering into her hands. "Not Warren!"

Chloe, whom went outside to have a smoke, came back inside to see her friend crying again and rushed over to put her arms around the girl.

"Max, what's happened? What's wrong now?"

Max turned and pressed her face into her shoulder, pouring into her renewed guilt and sorrow.

"I'm sorry." Kate could only say.

Chloe tried caressing her back.

"I should have agreed to go to the m—movies with him!" She heard through her sobs. Putting those words together, she realized who she was talking about, and what that _meant_.

"Oh, God… Max…" Chloe hugged her tighter. She had only met the boy once, and it was when he beat up Nathan. Max, of course, knew him longer, and while he had an obvious crush on her, she only regarded him as a friend. Still, that didn't stop from bringing out small spurts of jealousy whenever he was mentioned. Still, Chloe knew he was loyal to the end and held no bitterness against him.

"I—It's my…"

Chloe refused to let her finish. "No! Don't say it! Don't even think of it! _Please_." Chloe just continued holding her.

* * *

Soon enough, a hefty figure of man entered the ruined diner to scan the place for his loved ones.

"David!" Joyce cried when she saw him leapt into his arms.

"Oh, Joyce! I'm glad you're here! I'm so sorry for everything."

David spotted the two girls shortly and came over to see them next. "Chloe. Max."

Both were side-by-side, facing him and nodded.

He heaved a sigh and let his eyes fall to the floor. "I know it may be strange to hear this from me, but it's great to see you both."

Chloe responded with a faint but genuine smile. "You too, _David_."

Gathering some more courage, David knelt before them and focused mainly on his stepdaughter. "Listen… I know I haven't been the best father figure, and maybe you prefer it that way, I understand. I don't want to replace your father." David paused, nervous and unsure if these were the right choice of words.

Chloe just waited for him to continue.

"I don't deserve you, and I probably don't deserve your mother. But after everything that's happened, I…" David trailed off at a loss of words; he wasn't used to this. Joyce however patted him encouragingly. "I'm sorry, for everything. I'll try to be better, for both of you. You _and_ your mother."

David now looked Chloe straight in the eye, almost pleadingly. He meant it with all his heart, and he wanted to make sure she knew that as well.

"You don't have to call me 'dad', but hopefully in time, however long it takes, you'll stop calling me step-douche."

Chloe eased herself and let her shoulders rest. She always used to be on edge around this man, but now she could see. This wall that David always kept up to hide his emotions was coming undone, brick by brick. She could see pain, sorrow, regret, and _love_ , all in just his eyes. To this, she nodded gently and widened her smile slightly.

David mirrored her expression, relieved, and raised a hand to offer her a handshake. "Truce?"

"Hug him." Max nudged her friend.

"What?" Chloe whipped her head in surprise.

"H—He c—cares for you. It's the least—you can give him."

Chloe bit her lip and hesitated momentarily. After deciding, she walked up to give him a five-second hug before pulling away just as fast. "Truce." She finally answered.

This surprised everyone, especially David. It was a very short hug, but to get one from his wife's child who always hated him and hurled insults his way, it was more than enough. David just rose back up, contented.

Out of nowhere, the jukebox started playing _Mt Washington by Local Natives_ ; Victoria had wandered over there to see if it was still working, and somehow it _was,_ in a place that was nearly decimated by a tornado hours ago. Still, no one decided to question it.

Max turned to the machine and managed to spot a little cockroach crawling out from under it; it was the same one she saw just days ago while trying to prove her powers to Chloe. _It was still alive too?_

Victoria took one glimpse at the brown insect and fled back to the counter, shrieking.

The whole family just laughed at her in what felt like a lifetime.

"How the hell is that old thing still working anyway?" Joyce had to wonder.

As the song continued playing, Max snailed towards the sound, soothed by singer's voice and bathing in those soft strums. Her eyes shuttered, comfortably.

This gave Chloe an idea. She waltzed in front of her best friend to take both her hands and pulls her closer to the music player.

"Let's dance, Maxy." She whispers into her ear, _seductively_. Max chuckles shyly.

Surely enough, they leaned into one other, necks intertwined. Their steps matched the other's pace as they revolved in the floor space to follow the rhythm.

Joyce leaned into her husband's shoulder as they watched the two proudly.

Kate too took notice and beamed in adoration.

Victoria was just mutual, though growing curious by the second as to where this _dance_ would go next. It was something about the way they moved.

Max and Chloe were so lost in each other that nothing else mattered anymore; this floor was theirs and no one else's.

"I love you." Max breathed in her ear. "Please never leave me again."

"Never." Chloe puffed back. "I'll always be with you. My partner in crime… partner in _time_."

Their heads parted while their oceanic eyes locked. Chloe recalled their first kiss on the road, the one Max had pounced on her, and wanted the feel that again. Cupping the brunette's cheeks, the bluenette, being the initiator this time, brought their lips together and sealed them once more.

Kate muffled a gasp.

Victoria was stunned.

Joyce was just happy and started clapping for the two girls whom had found love at last. David averted his gaze a little, not from disgust, but simply because he wasn't used to this sight; he had nothing against it.

Max and Chloe snickered in embarrassment, suddenly self-conscious again.

Their moment of serenity came to a sudden end when Max started making gargling sounds from her throat, unpleasant ones. Next, her body was twitching uncontrollably.

Alerted to this, Chloe pulled Max away again and felt an icy grip squeezing in her chest at she was witnessing.

Her head was bobbing to one side while her jaw hung like it had come loose. Her eyes, however, had turned all white with pink vein strands, her blues having rolled to the back of her head; it's like something dark had possessed her entirely.

"Max!? MAX!" She screamed, alarming the rest of the diner.

Max lost all sense of balance again like she did before they came here, but Chloe kept her hold around her and let her sink to the floor, rested her on her lap, her face between her shaking hands. Blood had again leaked out of her nostrils with aggressive force, quickly messing the tiles around them, adding to their distress.

"Jesus!" Frank had come out from his spot to see what the commotion was and flinched once he saw it for himself. "What the hell is wrong with her?"

Pompidou, whom had tailed right after his owner, was barking and growling.

"God! What the fuck is happening!?" Chloe's panic puts dents in her voice.

"Oh, dear God!" Cried her mother.

David, however, spared no time for such shock and rushed over to aid them while Joyce stood over anxiously.

Kate and Victoria were thrown off their stools, rigid at the sight of Max bleeding and spazzing like she was having some sort of _seizure_.

"D—David! What do I do?" Chloe begged.

"Lay her down on her side!" She did as instructed, rolling her lover to her side as to have them facing each other. " _Don't_ restrain her or put anything in her mouth!"

"What about the nosebleed?"

Joyce answered her call by darting for the paper dispenser on her counter and back over to press a ball of tissue firmly under her nose.

"Okay, now what?"

"We wait for it to pass."

"Are you fucking serious?"

"Yes!" David went firm on his step-daughter again. "It's a seizure. I've seen this happen to one of by brother-in-arms. There's nothing more we can do!"

Chloe sighed, defeated. With nothing else to do, she made a conscious effort to slow her breaths down, a task that proved laborious, but not impossible.

"We need an ambulance NOW!" David shouted to one of the onlooking cops. One of them hurried off.

By now, dark veins were bulging profusely through her reddening flesh, threatening to pop altogether.

Chloe's death grip on her flailing hand refused to relent since she positioned her, and she pressed it against her lips sticky lips. Her flow of tears could not be stopped any longer. Max always had the power to pull her sorry-ass out of death, yet here she was, entirely powerless to do anything for _her_. She ripped off her beanie in grievance.

As if things weren't bad enough already, Max then forced out a bloodcurdling shriek that could have brought the entire food place down.

Max could not describe the unbearable pain she was experiencing. She could not think, could not control her own body, and all she could see became an oversaturated blur; the faint outlines of Chloe's hair stood out to her though.

Suddenly, Max starts bashing her head on the floor furiously. Joyce hurriedly seizes her head to stop her from hurting herself, but she still failed in her hands. Her eyes were now bloodshot.

Watching Max like this became agonizing to everyone else to witness as well, including Frank. Kate his her face and sobbed away, heartbroken to see the very girl who stopped her from jumping off the girl's dormitory in such a torturous state.

Joyce too was starting to lose surety of the situation and looked to David for answers, answers he was unable give her.

Chloe was ready to pass out at any second, but she managed whatever strength she had left to muster through, for she _needed_ to be strong.

"Max…" She scrambled for whatever words she could say to comfort her, assuming Max could still hear or understand her at this point. "Just—Just hold on, okay? We're gonna get you an ambulance! You're gonna be fine. After this, we can doze off back at my place. We can go back to the junkyard. Or we can be pirates again. Yeah?"

Max only let out another croak, and that was it. Chloe let her head fall next to Max's and sobbed harder than ever had since she lost her father five years ago, and _Rachel_.

Without warning, Max arched her back, unleashing a swell of power that rippled outwards like a gong, and dropped back down as it passed just as instantaneously.

The nerves of everyone in range numbed at this sudden surge they all felt. No one, apart from Chloe, had any clue what that was just now, but they _knew_ they felt it. Chloe figured that it had to do with her powers.

In a few seconds, that wouldn't the least of their worries anymore. Before long, a blazing glow drew everyone's attention outside, facing the window, all except for the three people still tending to Max.

Standing in front of the diner, they could trace out a glowing honey-yellow aura that had taken the physique of a young slender girl.

When the light settled, only then could the people see her face. Long brown hair that streamed all the way down to her neck framed a pair of swan-like eyes, and a fair oval face that had a long blue feather fluttering under one of her ears.

Anyone who had been around Arcadia Bay long enough would recognize those features instantly from those missing posters that were planted everywhere; the bewildered bystanders inside the diner were of course no exception.

Frank especially was transfixed. He knew this face far too well; it belonged to a girl that he once loved.

" _Rachel?_ "


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Any familiarity of her surroundings were now lost to Max as she found herself falling through a never-ending rabbit hole, while strobes blasted like cannon-fire from every direction. Her whole body, arms, legs, and even her _neck_ , stretched like gum and flexed like a pretzel. Her limbs twisting in such angles should have brought her the excruciating pain of her bones fragmenting, or _tenderizing_. Yet, she could only register the sensation as much as rubber with electricity.

With the piece of her sanity that still lingered, she imagined this force, this _friction_ , stretching her out into one incredibly long spaghetti, or perhaps instead a string tight enough to fasten on a guitar. Bizarrely enough, the physical numbness made this unusual circumstance somewhat relaxing, _assuming_ there was a bottom to this pit, to which she would find out in a couple of seconds.

She was faced-up when her back met the bottom with the thud of a sinking pebble meeting the riverbed, followed by her head; it was neither painful nor pleasant, but nonetheless preferable to what she expected. Her neck and limbs retracted instantaneously, snapping her head, hands, feet, and all other joints back in their right places.

Fatigued, Max drew her eyes shuts to pass out as she conjured the blue butterfly again, its wings fanning with grace, with simplicity… with liberty… _tranquility_.

* * *

In a matter of time, the hipster's surrogate family could feel her fit easing down in their bracing arms. When it relented, they could at last release some of the tension that hardened their lungs. Chloe studied her nerd friend closely, detailing her oiled forehead, her pale sunken cheeks, her beaded lashes, and the steady motion of her chest rising and receding like waves lapping at a shore during a golden hour as she now laid unresponsive, yet alive... _barely_. Her bleeding stopped too, at least it seemed.

A closer inspection, however, brought the punk's waning concern to the stirring motion beneath the teen's eyelids, shifting it back to the _opposite_ process. Whatever could be going on in her conscious after that trigger just now, Chloe could only hope was more lenient than the odds she pondered over.

Lacing her nails through her bear-brown hairline, Chloe inched her lips towards her chapped ones. "Hang in there, Super Max." She cooed.

"You're family is right here, baby." Her mother joined in, raising Max's hand to her longing heart while she hooked and arm around her husband's. "Me, Chloe, and _David_."

Watching how these two women lodge an ache deep within the vet's thick exterior; David wished so badly to come up with any comforting words of his own to offer them all, but his tongue remained tucked. All he could do was look on in pity, envy, and admiration.

Shortly, a heedful finger found its way onto Chloe's shoulder and prodded her lightly.

" _What?_ " She spat, whirling to see that it was Kate.

"I think _you_ need to see this." Kate never really knew this punk bluenette, nor Rachel, but she knew from observation that they were close outside of Blackwell.

From the way this girl had her fixed her stare to the outside through the windows, Chloe decided to take her word for it. Blowing out her annoyance, she lowered Max with the level of care she would give to a baby and rose to see for herself what everyone was _so_ transfixed on.

The very moment she caught her own glimpse of the mysterious glowing figure, and the face, her heart stopped, ice showering her body.

"No… No fucking way…"

Shaking in denial, she threw herself against the glass window nearest to her, blinking rapidly as to be sure she wasn't hallucinating, because her eyes _had_ to be playing tricks. There was absolutely no way this was Rachel; last time they found her, her rotting corpse was wrapped in a bag, buried in their junkyard; Max was right there beside her, and despite the stench, Chloe recognized its scent as hers alone.

A blend of different emotions took control as they had Chloe shove through the crowd towards the exit, hellbent on confronting this... _impostor_. Just when she reached the doors, however, David caught her around the waist. "Oh no, you don't! What do _you_ think you're doing!?"

"Get... off me!" She tried thrashing, kicking, and elbowing in an attempt to break free from his hold, but his arms were too big and strong to give.

"That's not an option, young lady!" He growled, dragging the stubborn teen back away to make way for the officers to scamper out to deal with the situation instead.

The entity loitered in the middle of the road as the enforcers formed a perimeter in front of the entrance and leveled their firearms at her. They held this stance while their fingers loomed nervously over their triggers, ready for _anything_ , as they were taught.

When Chloe tired herself from her struggle soon enough, David relented, yet kept a firm hand on her shoulder just in case. All they could now was to watch the unfolding scene before them like everyone else.

Finally, one of them summoned the courage to step forward. "Who are you?" He asked the entity, wondering if she would understand.

The eyed the approaching officer directly but withheld any response.

"Are you Rachel Amber?" He continued.

He still got no answer.

"Can you understand me?"

The figure simply reached up to fiddle with the blue feather under her ear, and then peered past the uniforms inside the Two Whales to spot a peculiar blue-haired girl staring back at her.

Chloe observed the way this doppelganger twiddled her fingers around the accessory exactly the same way the _real_ Rachel did. _Her_ Rachel.

For the first time, the latter's face furrowed from its neutral demeanor to take on what appeared to be a look of question as they drew out their shared glances.

The entity felt a connection with this girl somehow. There was some sort of connection, a sense of familiarity, much like the name, _Rachel_. Did she know this girl? Perhaps, there were memories... from a _previous_ life.

Simultaneously, a mass of thick brooding clouds materialized all at once out of nothing. They welded together until no ray of warmth from the early day could shower through anymore.

Everyone beneath the diner's shelter clamored and backed further away from the windows as they watched this unnatural shift in climate, fearing the worst of yet another great storm.

"Don't move!" Bellowed the cops. Their anxious had leveled up to fear, as evidenced by the clattering of their firearms between their shuddering fingers.

The entity didn't flinch whatsoever. Instead, she reverted to her neutral demeanor as she proceeded to scan through the rest of the Two Whales' interior to find Max slacked in a far grievous shape than what was last seen of her.

There, this middle-aged woman in an apron was cradling her head in her lap while this other girl with a bun and dressed rather conservatively crouched over to wipe the blood off of Max's face ever so tenderly with a wet tissue.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" Kate had to ask.

Joyce could only reply with a hum, uncertain, as her eyes rested on this girl, this wonderful young soul who brought so much joy back into her daughter's life, and _theirs_ too. Ever since William went, he left behind a scope of vacancy. While Joyce eventually found solace with David, Chloe had to fend off her loss by herself, scared, lost, and angry.

When Max, another allusion to their long-lost past, entered their lives again, the woman realized just how important her role was; from the moment she first entered her diner and their home, she managed to slowly but surely pick up the pieces of their broken family and glued them back together with her emanating kindness. Fences that were long overdue for repairs were mended at last, thanks to her.

When Kate cleaned off the last smears of blood, she looked upon the ailing girl with sympathy, then up to Joyce, hoping that her next choice of words could offer some easiness. "When I was up there on the roof, I thought... _everyone_ had abandoned me... including God." She inhaled and persisted. "I believed that the world would be better off without me as a part of it anymore." She welled up, returning full-on to that memory. "And then Max appeared right behind me like some sort of angel and pulled me back from the edge and convinced me that my life wasn't over." Kate smiled down to Max, a tear falling onto her face. "She saved my soul, and I'll never thank her enough."

Joyce smiled too and nodded. **  
**

"I'm praying for her, heart and soul. I wish I can do more."

"You've done more than enough, sweetie."

Kate accepted this as she got to leave the two alone again.

Neither of them had any idea how severe the damage that was inflicted on Max truly was when the entity analyzed the girl's organic network through her flesh to see the horrific result herself. The part of her nervous system rooting from her spinal cord all the way to her brain was now all yanked and fried... _almost_. That last crash of her powers had to have taken its toll on those circuits; her life was literally hanging by a thread now.

If that last thread gets severed, her mind would pose insurmountable danger to everything.

 _Everything_.

Wasting no more time, the entity returned her attention to the cops, still training their weapons on her. With serene grace, she raised a hand at them and spanned her fingers.

This sudden action triggered one of the officers to open fire; the rest followed suit. Bullets broke out in splashes of fire from their respective gun barrels as they darted through the thickening air towards their target.

At the first explosive crack, everyone inside shrieked and dove to the floor, covering their heads for dear life. Chloe, on the other hand, had to be thrown down and body-shielded by David, as she was a bit too bewitched.

They waited through the silence that followed after the ringing settled. No sound of a body hitting the hard pavement was ever heard, nor any scuffing of shoes or jiggling of lethal hardware from the cops as they moved.

Chloe cleared David off as she dawdled back up. The others did the same, though not as eagerly as they kept on their toes. The result of what occurred contradicted to what they expected. What started off as bewilderment morphed to disbelief once each individual examining the scene understood... _moderately_.

The authority figures were standing with their guns out just like before. The big difference was that they were now still as mannequins, no natural sway in their stances at all. The trails of misting smoke were floating from the noses of their weapons, _literally_ stuck in mid-motion. And as for the bullets... there they were, suspended just less than a meter from the face of Rachel, halted in their trajectory.

She _froze_ them.

"What the actual fuck?" That was Chloe's natural verbal response to any situation so bizarre.

David, reading Chloe's mind, dragged the punk away back to the spot where her mother with Max stayed.

Briefly, Chloe was able to recall that time when Max described to her how she had stopped time with her while trying to stop Kate from jumping to her death. It was then that a realization poked her neck like a sharp stinger. Could this _thing_ be like Max? And is it _really_ Rachel?

With the sheriffs immobilized, every other person who could still move freely scrambled for the farthest corner away from the entrance and panicked as the entity set foot inside.

She paused to try and recollect as she made a three-sixty-degree turn like a steady roundabout to take in this interior; it was _Deja Vu_ for her. Her gaze stopped across the counter on Frank, who had his arms folded around a screeching Pompidou. Peering into the perturbed eyes of this gruff man, she could sense a familiar link with him as well.

Frank looked at this girl, this one girl whom he shed layers for, that he showed to parts of himself that he would have never allowed others to see. Inexplicably, he finds himself in danger of welling up her longed presence.

Next, the entity steered her head sideways to the end of the diner where her counterpart laid and strode towards them. She hardly minded that Chloe and David stood between them. When Joyce caught on with what was happening, she scooped Max up and backed farther away while David pushed his stepdaughter behind him.

The hardened security guard of Blackwell did his best to tame his own fear while he raised a hand to the approaching creature, motioning it to stop if possible.

To his, and everyone's surprise, the entity did just that.

"Who are you?" He dared ask, his voice stern but seeping hints of alertness. "What do you want?"

The entity extended her finger, and all whirled their heads to see to pointing sharply at Max.

"Why?" Chloe suddenly stepped up, zipping in front to face this 'Rachel'. "What do you want with Max?" **  
**

"Chloe!" Joyce wheezed. "What are you-?"

"Who the hell are you _really_?"

The entity continued standing there, wordless, which frustrated her.

"FUCKING ANSWER ME!" The whole diner flinched. **  
**

The muteness pressed on. The entity gave a puzzled look this time and placed her fingers on her temple to try and piece this girl together. She reopened the archive of her past life and fumbled through until this same blue-haired girl started appearing in those memories like Polaroid photos.

 _Sitting together in a pickup as they followed the path of a narrow road cutting through the forest..._

 _Posing next to the lighthouse with the tangerine sunset as their backdrop..._

 _Pressing their faces together for selfie..._

 _Two monkeys jumping on the bed with weed in their hands to music blasting from her radio..._

Sudden recognition gleamed all over the entity's face when she opened her mouth to utter, then sliding her fingers down to her heart. "Rachel."

Everyone threw back in a unanimous gasp when this creature spoke for the first time.

"Now… I remember."

Chloe inched closer, scanning up and down the form of this being who now claimed to be her long lost friend. "It's really you... isn't it?"

A ghost of a smile right then stretched across 'Rachel's' face as she directed those same fingers to her next. "Chloe."

The bluenette slapped a cup over her mouth to barricade oncoming sobs as she hear her own name from that voice. "I... thought you were _dead_!"

"I _am_ dead."

"Wait, what?" Chloe lowered her hands and furrowed in confusion. "What the hell does that mean?"

Rachel broke her gaze and squinted hard, memories of her last moments flooding back. Chloe sensed this as well and understood quickly. Faced her old friend again, she chose instead to just answer one of her earlier questions. "I'm the reason this is happening to Max."

"How?"

She swallowed. "Because… her powers came from me."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

 _It feels like I've been trapped here for months... or maybe even years... I have no idea._

Her perception of time had also been messed with, apparently, as it became harder to remember how long it had been since that... _attack_... cast her from the world she knew and breathed in. She was taken from Arcadia Bay, torn away from her loved ones, but most importantly, forced out of Chloe's arms and thrown into this _limbo_ like a garbage disposal.

 _This is definitely no heaven, but it doesn't feel like hell either. I must be in some sort purgatory that they call Limbo... but I can't be dead!_

In her heart, Max could feel herself, or at least a part of it, lingering on, if barely, clinging for dear life on its _nails_.

A shrill hoot wound her attention upwards where, on a low brittle branch, she spotted an owl perched there that was either studying or _leering_ at her; its luminous round irises could hypnotize her if she stared back long enough.

This feathered creature, normally harmless, sent a cold trickle down the spine of her neck as she unwillingly called back to the last situation where she heard that same sound, which was when she returned with Chloe to the junkyard to guard-watch Rachel's body and trap Nathan, only to instead have the rugged pulled under them by...

 _No... not him! Don't think of him! Not here!_

When the rush of air picked up once more, Max dropped to her knees, squeezed her eyes shut, and blocked her ears with her sweaty palms to try and banish that horrid memory.

 _"There's no escape, my dear Max."_ Spoke his voice, oozing with venom. _"The darkness here is very much my dark room."_ It passed through her hands like mesh and wormed its way inward, prompting her to scream internally.

 _Leave me alone! Please!_

That _disgusting_ voice of Jefferson's... it breathed on her from all around at once, yet she could find no trace of that monster when she spindled in her spot to piece him out through the shadows.

Right then, she stops dead when a small but noticeable orb hooks her interest up ahead. A predator's lure or a guide? She wasn't sure whether it would lead her to freedom or her doom.

 _"There's nowhere to run!"_

Chancing one of her two guesses, Max made a blind dash for it, daring not to look back or anywhere else.

* * *

 **"Wait… what the hell? Her powers… are from _you_?"**

Chloe stood before this manifestation of Rachel, dumbfounded by her statement.

All ears were on them as the entity continued. "I was like Max. Or to put it better, she was like _me_. Unlike her, I never used my powers to change fate or help others. Rather, I used them for my own benefit, such as to become popular."

"All this time?" Chloe glowered into her eyes, feeling of betrayal swelling up again. "You never told me, after all that time?"

"I tried to." Rachel's voice began to show fragility. "I tried to tell you, like how I tried telling you about Frank."

Hearing his name, Frank cautiously meandered from around the counter to listen closer; even Pompidou had gone silent.

Chloe worked out the rest of what Rachel was going to explain. "You actually told me a few times before, _didn't_ you?"

Rachel nodded, and looked down shamefully.

"I'm hella guessing I didn't react well, so then you rewinded and decided instead to lie to my fucking face."

Rachel said nothing, afraid to look her friend in the eyes again.

"You fucking bitch!"

Everyone flew back when Chloe then struck the entity across the cheek.

"Chloe!" Joyce shrieked.

Chloe, as well as the whole diner, flew back and froze, fearing that she provoked this powerful entity.

Rachel had hardly flinched from the slap, like it didn't affect her. She just returned her a straight-faced look that displayed no hint of retaliation. "Feel better?"

Chloe let out a deep breath, somewhat relieved that Rachel didn't _react_.

"I would advise you, Dear Price, not to do that again, though."

Chloe swallowed down the bile trapped in her throat and wiped her nose to compose herself. "I—I'm sorry, _Rachel_."

"I figured that'd be your reaction, anyway."

Rachel then turned around to notice Frank standing across the floor from them. For whatever reason, he kept a bay, deciding it would be better not to approach them, at least for the time being.

Rachel turned back to Chloe, and then leaned over her shoulder to see Joyce standing behind David, holding Max away from her protectively.

"So _you're_ the Max Caulfield that Chloe had told me so much about. The _other_ brunette."

Reluctantly, Chloe let Rachel brush past her as she moved on towards them.

* * *

Almost out of breath, Max was on her fours, facing a deathly quiet river. She had no idea how far she ran until she reached here, but that didn't matter so long as she got away from that violating voice at last.

She was now thirsty, but as she stooped over the calm passing water, she thought for a second whether she should really drink a mouthful from this current before she took her first scoop, and then another, and another one after that.

She moaned with each gulp; the water was delicious, yet her thirst wasn't being quenched like it should.

"Oh… _right_ …"

Max heaved a sigh, and then rubbed her temples. For as long as she had been like this, it's like she'd been walking around with shards of glass inside her head.

Suddenly, the same golden orb returned to her at the opposite side of the river, expanding to a greater size.

Max rose to her feet to face this glowing source that now took the form of yet another doe.

 _There was something familiar about it…_

* * *

Chloe had Max's head cushioned in her laps while Rachel floated her hand over the girl's face, scanning her; the former had managed to convince her parents, after a hard-fought argument, to back off and give the entity a chance to help their friend.

Everyone else moved closer to observe the scene silently once they had adjusted to this presence. Most, including Kate and Victoria, were now invested with whatever was going to unfold next.

Suddenly, one last question Chloe almost forgot to ask slipped back into her head. "How did you do it? How did Max get your powers anyway?"

"You'll hear me explaining to Max once I find her." Rachel answered without looking at her.

"Find her? So what, is she _lost_ in her head?"

"Yes." Rachel seethed, annoyance at Chloe's endless questions surfacing. "Now let me _concentrate_."

With that, Chloe buttoned up.

After a moment, Rachel spoke up two words that filled Chloe's heart with hope again. "Found her."

* * *

"Who are you?" Max asked the doe. "Why am I here?"

The doe answered by revealing its humanoid form.

Max was almost knocked back by shock and disbelief. " _Rachel_?"

"Yes. It's me, Max."

"How are _you_ here?"

"I'm here for the same reason you are." With a wave of her hand, the manifestation of Rachel froze the river, as well as the environment around her.

Max held in a deep breath and held it with her mouth. "You have powers too? Or am I just imagining this?"

* * *

Chloe listened intensely as Rachel answered responses from Max that only she could hear.

"No, Max. I'm real. I'm here, and so is Chloe."

"Is she okay?" Chloe whispered.

Rachel nodded.

* * *

Slight relief came over Max after she heard that Chloe and many others were fine, but then continued their conversation straightforwardly. "You're dead. Chloe and I saw your body." Max froze up right then, a daunting realization hitting her. "Am I…?"

"No, only me."

Rachel then walked over across the frozen water to Max, the latter proceeding to circle her. "All this is happening because of your powers. Apparently, you had altered destiny so much that they're finally blowing back in your face."

"How do know about this? About me?"

"Because your powers used to belong to me. Most of what I gave you at least."

"But _how_?"

Rachel sucked in a deep breath of her own; even for the entity, this was going to be harder explaining, as well as go back to. "As I died… after Nathan Prescott and Mark Jefferson drugged me…"

* * *

The whole diner hollered in shock when Rachel revealed her fate and the names of those responsible; Kate and Victoria especially couldn't believe it, their own photography teacher, but even worse for Victoria, her own friend.

"Those bastards." David grimaced, tightening his fists. "I knew there was something wrong with that high-nosed prick of a teacher." Guilt tightened around David's neck, knowing he could have done something sooner.

* * *

"I was stupid enough to agree to Jefferson's plan to model in his dark room." Rachel shook her head; just remembering what happened in there made her ill. She continued regardless. "I kept trying again and again to rewind out of that place, but the drugs did something to me. I couldn't use my powers, but I kept trying to fight; I didn't know then that you could travel back through photos."

Tears ran down from Rachel's face as she darted her eyes away. Max put a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay, Rachel."

Once Rachel looked back over to Max, she was encouraged with a nod to continue. She felt comfort in this girl's touch. "When Nathan gave me that final dose, that was it. My powers just… fizzed out of control. It's like my powers desperately wanted to escape me before my mind fried completely. Apparently, it _worked_ and latched onto you."

Max thought back to how Chloe described her lost friend as a mystery, a puzzle, stating how she always seemed to know what to say and what to do; it all made so much sense now. "How did you get your powers then?"

"That's a question for another time." Rachel shot back. "This is about you now."

"Is there a way to fix this? Can you help me get out of here?"

"Yes." Her hesitant answer worried Max. "But it's going to be harder now."

"What is it?"

"This is going to be hard to hear, but you _have_ to know."

* * *

Rachel proceeded to explain Max's condition in front of everyone. "I was just too late, but don't panic. When your powers malfunctioned, it caused your brain to short-circuit, which resulted in your seizure. It's… _worse_ … than I thought it would be."

Chloe's breaths went shallow while Joyce held onto David, no one liking what they were going to hear next.

"It's amazing that you're still even conscious in here."

Rachel paused again, as the Max inside asked her another uneasy question.

"I think you may have… less than a few hours… until your powers become even more unstable and dangerous to everyone here and beyond." Rachel swallowed before dropping the last bomb. "You could be clinically dead after that."

Chloe shook in horror. "No…" A new wave of tears threatened to flood the diner at second now.

"But there's still a chance." Rachel said right after, easing everyone again momentarily.

* * *

Max could swear that she gave up breathing after hearing the true depth of her state; it's the same feeling one would get if a doctor came back to deliver a terminal result.

"There's _still_ hope." Rachel repeated, hoisting Max out of her spiraling emotions. "But I need you to help me."

Max nodded. "Anything."

"I have to take back my powers from you, but in order to do that, you'll need to confront your demons and may have to endure excruciating psychological pain."

Max gulped. "How bad?"

"Even I can't tell." Rachel looked away uncertainly, and then back to her again. "I'll have to literally force it out of you like it's an exorcism. Your powers are gonna put up a fight, so be ready for that."

"I don't know if I can do this."

"Yes you can. You're braver and stronger that you think, more so than anyone I've known. Your bluenette girlfriend knows this too. You've done so much for so many lives here in Arcadia Bay." Rachel took Max's face and brought their heads together. "They owe you their lives."

"No, they don't."

Rachel nodded, amused by her answer. "Then let _me_ return the favour."

* * *

Back in the outside world, Max took the whole diner, including Rachel herself, by surprise when her hand unconsciously shot up to grasp the entity's wrist suddenly; she was swift as an alligator's jaws.


	7. Chapter 7

**TRIGGER WARNING: Some scenes may cause immense discomfort and push this overall story to an M rating.**

* * *

 **Chapter 7**

In her mental world, Max had her hand locked around Rachel's wrist as well, trembling from fear and determination. She heaved in a few deep breaths, and then let go again. She backed up a bit from the astral girl to gaze into her own hands and fingers, the same ones that created and destroyed, and clenched them into fists.

Finally, she dared ask the nagging question. "One more thing before we do this." Rachel angled her face sideways a bit, worried with whatever she was going to request. "If I don't make it…" Max paused to swallow. "Will you take me wherever it is you went?"

"You mean…?" Rachel clipped her tongue before she could say the rest of that sentence in front of Chloe outside; she understood what she was asking.

Max just nodded. "If my powers are gonna pose a threat to anyone else again, then they should die with me otherwise."

Rachel bowed her head, sadly recalling when she watched the two at the lighthouse as some invisible omniscient being. Around the time, she was just a floating piece of matter that broke off from the storm to observe them indifferently, but now, after materializing and remembering everything before, there was more emotional weight.

She listened to how Chloe had pleaded with her friend to sacrifice her life to save all the others, and now here Max was asking her the same thing.

"I should be the last casualty, if that's what this so-called universe wants." Max finished, and released all those bottled up emotions in a slow exhale.

Without answering verbally, Rachel nods grimly to her request; she had to wonder in the back of her own mind what choice _she_ would have made in Max's place, but she shook it off.

They couldn't waste anymore time.

* * *

Back out in front of the diner, Rachel's time-hold over the cops finally relented, and they slumped to the ground like puppets that had their strings severed. They weren't unconscious to say the least, but they weren't responsive either to each other anything around them anymore; they were all just staring blankly forward.

Inside, Frank lowered Pompidou back onto the floor and proceeded cautiously towards Rachel and the others while his canine companion tailed behind him quietly; he had to see for himself.

Chloe sharpened her eyes when she noticed Frank approaching her way and mouthed at him, "Get the fuck away from us."

Frank half-complied; he slowed down but refused to stop. He had recently gained a certain ounce of respect for the two girls, but he still wasn't going to let the punk have her way.

The punk's face darkened as he drew closer; she feared that this idiot would try to do something to reach out to his 'girlfriend'. Frank sensed her apprehension and raised his hands to let her know other wise as he then squatted down a minimal distance next to the form of his former fling, or _lover_.

Chloe settled herself soon enough, but was still iffy about him being here too, especially at the way he was then studying her features intently. Nevertheless, Max was still the number-one priority right now.

With Max's hand still on Rachel's wrist, the entity edged closer and moved the frail girl's other hand to her cheek to mirror each other.

"Follow my lead." Rachel whispered soothingly.

* * *

A moan of thunder pushed away the silence that filled shadowy void above as the two girls sat opposite each other, cross-legged, knees touching, and their hands braced to form a ring between the two.

"Our powers should be stronger while we're connected."

Max followed suit when they next leaned their heads in until they touched over the small gap between them, and they closed their eyes.

A streak of lightning slashed across the sky, causing Max to flinch, though she didn't relent on her concentration.

"Hush. It's okay."

Max took another deep breath.

"Now reach into yourself. Let go of everything around you. Find your demons. Find your angels. Find your Ikigai."

"What's an _Ikigai_?"

" _Concentrate_. No more questions."

Max sealed her lips shut from leaking any more questions and worked to dig deep within herself.

"Look for your light." Rachel's voice echoed through the woods and then travelled away. "They will shine through the darkness."

No longer feeling Rachel's presence, Max opened her eyes to find herself alone, and in a completely different setting.

No longer was she on a still surface. No longer did crisp trees surround her. No longer was there any land in sight; she now found herself sitting in a boat squirming in the middle of a pastoral ocean. Only the atmosphere inked with gloom remained consistent with its dark clouded sky.

"Rachel!?" Max perked to look all around her. "Rachel! Where are you?"

"You've reached in." Her voiced rumbled from the heavens. "Does your boat look familiar? Or does it just represent something important to you?"

Confused, Max proceeded to scan the inner surroundings of her little boat. Despite the dimness of the infinite night, she could make out a small sail that was strung around the mast; it was actually just a small blanky tied around a standing branch that was placed here to look like a pirate ship.

Her eyes wandered down further to spot three accessories; an eye patch and a wooden sword that closely resembled the one she wielded when she used to play pirates with Chloe when they were kids.

"Go pirates…" Max uttered as she fondly recalled those childhood memories, those much simpler times, when the realization dawned on her. "Chloe and I always wanted to sail in our own boat."

"She told me. In fact, she at one point considered taking all three of us around the world across the seas, even if she had to _steal_ a ferry."

Max chuckled at the thought. "Yeah, that's _totally_ her. Did she also bring up her fantasies of having a threesome?"

Some silence paused their conversation before Rachel replied. "I'm sure she thought of it, that girl. _Right, Chloe?_ "

* * *

Chloe threw up a perplexed look at Rachel, then to Max, wondering what the hell they were talking about.

* * *

Hearing Rachel calling out Chloe, a new wonder flew at her face. "Hey! Can Chloe hear us?" Hoped filled her.

"No, but she can hear _me_. Why, you want me to pass a note to her?"

"Yes." Max nodded finally. "I want to her know where I am, where I was, and where I will go next. You're my witness, aren't you?"

"Yes, I indeed am."

"I want this to be like a memoir." Max licked her lips to moisten them again. "Can you start by telling her how much I love her? And how sorry I am to everyone for letting this all happen? How I wish I could take it all back?"

"I will. But let me ask you," Rachel's tone turned more serious. "You still _can_ , but would you _really_?"

* * *

 _Would you really, what?_

Rachel decided to state it clearer for the listeners. "Would you really go back to Sacrifice Chloe for the sake of all others?"

The whole diner fell silent, so silent in fact that anyone could hear a pin drop. Chloe and her parents especially were taken aback by the entity's question.

"What does she mean?" Joyce asked no one in particular with fear.

Chloe realized now that Rachel was prodding Max with tough questions, the same third-degree she used to give her during their rough spots.

"There's no wrong answer." Rachel continued. "Just the truth."

Chloe cradled her arms around Max's face more endearingly, waiting like all others for the answer to come from her.

After another share of deafening silence, Rachel finally voiced her answer. " _Abso-fucking-lutely not_ , she says."

A couple of tears dripped from Chloe's face onto Max's, and she rested her head against hers. "Max…" She could feel many eyes turning on her, but she didn't want to know the looks they could be giving her; they could be _resenting_ her about now. "Max? Are y—you in there?" She murmured between fresh new sobs. "Where are you?"

"She's on a boat, playing pirate." Rachel answered her, _somewhat_ directly.

"Without _moi_?" Chloe expressed to Max, half-comically. "How dare you, you bitch? We're supposed to be partners in crime."

"And partners in time." Rachel added for her.

Chloe reverted to her emotional state. "You have to come back, Max. _Please_. I need you here."

The vibe of their situation shifted again when Rachel's face tightened, now showing some struggle.

* * *

Max could swear that she heard another familiar voice coming from the sky before another roll of thunder drowned it out. Next, she could feel her head and shoulders getting pelted what she initially thought were thick flakes of ice that fell like rain rather than snow.

She picked up a piece that fell into her boat to find that they were all instead jagged shards of _glass_. She quickly flung out the piece she was holding when one of its corners pricked her finger, drawing a pint of blood.

The girl hissed and sucked on that little cut as the horde began to escalate. Max's uneasiness seeped back into her, as she now could no longer feel Rachel's vigilance over her.

As this unusual storm advanced, every new piece that fell towards the sea increased in heaviness, thickness, and sharpness.

Before Max could realize it, stinging sensations all through her body attacked her; at first, there were like small nuisances such as ant bites or splinters before they grew more into wasp-like punctures.

Max scrambled in her small wooden confines to find anything to shield her from the oncoming hail with; her skin and clothes were now soaked in patches of blood blooming from gashes and cuts sketched all over her.

She managed to tear off the blanky from the mast and threw it over herself, surely painting the cover ink red as well. Max trembled under the sheet as she could feel the load steadily piling up around her in her boat; she was tempted now to just throw herself into the sea just to avoid anymore of those lethal projectiles if this continued.

"Rachel?" She groaned through the pain. "Where are you?"

Her blanket could only do so much as soften the blows, but for how long?

* * *

On the floor, Max was panting furiously as she jolted up and down through her body, as if she was getting tasered in different parts. Chloe tried to keep Max's head steady while David and Joyce pinned down her arms and legs.

All began to fear that another seizure could be underway.

* * *

Under her shell, Max began to hear multiple voices, all shouting, and all crying in protest.

"You left us to die."

"No."

"You chose Chloe over us."

"No!"

"You destroyed everything!"

"Stop it!" Sobbing again, Max pressed her palms into her ears, but it was pointless; they were rattling from inside her skull.

"All I wanted to do was Go Ape with you!" That voice was _Warren's_. "And you decided to kill me!"

"No! That's not true!"

"You only ever thought of yourself!" That sounded like Alyssa. "I bet that if a bullet flew my way, you'd just let it hit me!"

"No! I—I care about all of you!" Max stumbled on her words; she was unsure anymore if even she believed herself.

"LIAR!" They all cried in unison, causing Max to bowl over completely.

"Please…" She begged. "I'm sorry…"

After another moment, she was licked by another familiar voice, menacingly distinct from all the others. "Oh, Max. If you see yourself right now."

"No… not _you_ …"

 _Jefferson_.

"We're just the same, you and I."

"No, we're not!" Max shrieked in a mix of fear and anger.

"Think about it, Max. Your time powers are like your photographs. You keep going back until your get your shot the way you want it." Jefferson chuckled to himself. "And the way you want your world to be is to have it with Chloe, and her _alone_."

"I am not like you!"

"Oh, sure. I killed only a number of innocents while you slaughtered _thousands_ at the whim of your hand."

Max coiled even tighter more; she unable to bear the nagging truth he was hammering into her.

"If I had known then, or better yet, had those powers myself, imagine what I could have done with you!"

"Go away!"

"I could have rewound time over and over again just to capture the innocence of all those girls, _over and over again_."

"Rachel! Help me!"

Jefferson clicked his tongue pitifully. "Rachel isn't here, Max. She abandoned you." Now he howled in laughter. "Now, it just you, me, and all the souls you've condemned. And since we're all inside your head, why don't we have some fun with you?"

At that moment, something in the water started battering against the boat and getting it to rock more violently; it felt like a barrage of hands patting against the wood to try and swamp her.

Finally, Max forced herself out of her cover to find out exactly what it was. She froze in horror when she saw that there were people in the water, but not just that, they were people she knew, and were presumed to be _dead_. She saw Warren in the forefront, attempting to pull down the rim of her boat.

"Warren?"

Behind her, there was Alyssa, and Charlotte, and so many others. These had to all be the people who didn't survive the storm; they were all grey hollowed pods, lacking any clothes whatsoever.

"Help us, Max!" Warren began. "Don't let us die again!" Howled another. "PLEASE!"

Max remained petrified until Jefferson appeared right behind her on the boat, arms around her waist, and licked the side of her face, prompting a drilling shriek out of the girl. "Come on, Max! We're just getting started!"

Ultimately, the boat finally tipped over, sending Max careening into the ocean of undead corpses, head on.

Her head had a hard smack against the surface that nearly broke her neck, and then there was nothing. Her eyes were shut tight as she was carried further under the water, further into the abyss, by many hands that overpowered her. In between bubbled screams, she attempted to hold her breaths while fighting those countless hands that were then trying to rip off all her clothes.

She was powerless to stop it.

"Let's go for another round behind the lens." The art teacher's voice echoed through the depths.


	8. Chapter 8

**TRIGGER WARNING: This chapter in particular is Rated M due to some lewd and disturbing content. Readers, please be advised.  
**

* * *

 **Chapter 8**

Rachel's control over Max's psyche got even more out of control when the girl started thrashing yet again, except this time it didn't appear like another electrical torture device was being injected into her body, but rather, like she was trying to break free out of some restraints.

She was also making pained gargles out of her throat, mixed with shallow gasps and terrified whimpers; it's like someone was trying to either suffocate, strangle, or drown her.

"This is getting out of hand!" David complained.

Eventually, Rachel couldn't keep her focus longer and was forced back out of Max's head, the entity's face riddled with half the stress of everyone else.

Chloe eyed upward and spotted some frat runaway recording this incident on his phone, triggering her fury for about the twenty-fifth time today. "You get rid of that phone right now, you fucking frat-bag, or I'll HELLA fuck you up!" This day was stressful enough as it is without some insensitive fool deciding to exploit her friend's misery to get views.

The frat-boy apparently didn't listen or didn't hear her, and Chloe was about to blow her top.

Just before the punk could leave her beloved just to unleash her wrath on this guy, _Frank Bowers_ of all people beat her to the punch. He simply marched up to the guy, ripped his phone away, and proceeded to shove him back through the crowd before chucking the device back.

"Fuck off outta here!" He grunted.

The frat boy miserably picked up his still functioning smartphone, stopped its recording, and then hurried out of there, cursing under his breath.

Through the desperation, Chloe couldn't help but he surprised to see a noble favor committed by the same drug dealer whom had hassled her time and time before; a tiny peak of respect for him had surfaced, she had to admit, but she couldn't dwell on that now.

Shifting back to Max, she was shocked at how stick her hand felt around the back of her head once she realized it; her hair was darkened and dampened around her scalp, her bangs stuck to her aggressively humid face. Her shirt as well was drooled in her sweat, sticking to her torso like a wet rag; Chloe and Joyce wanted to remove her jacket, but with her hand still unconsciously locked around Rachel's wrist, they decided not to chance it.

"For everyone else," Rachel began, her voice booming through the whole Diner, "clear out now!"

Everyone paused momentarily to process the echoed instruction before they all proceeded to shuffle their way out through the exit while murmuring. Kate was one of the last few to leave, alone with Victoria; she just looked back them and nodded as her way of saying 'Good luck' before continuing out.

Once everyone was outside, they all just idled in the middle of the empty road in front of the Diner, keeping their well distance away; they were all still eager to see this through, especially Frank.

Victoria had her arm over Kate, who had her hands cupped around her cross hanging over her heart again. Victoria too wanted Max to make it through this just as much, because despite their differences, she knew the hipster didn't deserve to go through this.

Suddenly, another howl of thunder hovered down from the brooding sky, reminding them of the entity— _Rachel's_ power, giving them a stray beam of hope.

* * *

Max found herself restrained to a stretcher that was being wheeled through a dark corridor. As she tried squirming her head, hands, and feet, out of their bondage to no avail, she also realized that she was nude from the passing air licking at her bare skin.

 _This isn't real… None of this…_

When she looked up, with limited movement, she could make out the dark shape of someone pushing the stretcher; it looked more like another young boy rather than a grown up.

"Please…"

Right then, she recognized the wavy hair slanted to one side, as well as the shape of the face, and identified this figure to be Warren.

"Are you going to offer to go the movies with me _now_ , Max?" The boy sneered; it was definitely his voice, but the personality didn't match, and it ran cold fuzzes down her body.

"You don't… have to d—do this!" Max's begging was subdued by her panic, just like the rest of her.

Warren snorted. "Of course we do. But don't think I'm doing this because you never gave a shit about me."

"That's not true!"

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that! Deep down, you want this!"

"What do you mean!?"

Suddenly, Warren stopped and tilted the entire stretcher upwards ninety degrees, which somehow freed Max from her restraints as she was thrust into a pitch-black pocket of nothingness.

The girl screamed as she felt herself falling through a hole before she landed headfirst onto solid ground, her body following suit with a splat.

She sobbed from the pain and terror of what was to come. She was somehow able to move her bones as she curled to her side into a little ball as an audience of laughter closed in from all directions.

"Rachel!" Max cried, shivering like a drenched mutt. "Help me!" The laughter only escalated, drowning out her pleas.

Just then, lights coming from all directions came on at once, blinding her. When she squinted her eyes open again, the brightness that washed over quickly gave way to an audience of crumpled and distorted bodies all standing around her, waving their flashlight and hooting as though they're at some live show. Max forced her head up and around and shortly realized, to her despair, that she was back in the dark room again, now bathed in a hellish red glow.

As the girl tried moving the rest of her body, she found that her hands and feet were bound tightly together once more.

 _No… not here… not this again!_

"Your little guardian won't be able to find us here, Max." Jefferson entered the fray with his camera, armed with that same venomous smile.

This Jefferson in her dream, however, looked far different compared to her real experience. All his defining features were stretched out and exaggerated. His shoulders were broader and sharper. His face was elongated, his chin edged like a knife. His eyes were peeled wide, the blacks inside narrowed to resemble a viper's. His Cheshire grin bared daggers for teeth; this wasn't human.

"Let's get to _work_."

With that, this demonic apparition of Jefferson aimed his lens right at Max's terrified face hiding behind her bandaged hands, and snapped his first shot. His flash popped like gunfire through her eyes.

"Yes."

He followed up with a closer shot, and then swooped around her for an overhead shot.

"Good, Max. This is perfect!" He stood over the girl with both feet planted on either side of her. "Now I'll need you to face up."

Hearing this caused Max to shrink further into herself and bury her face into the cold floor, which didn't please the photographer one bit.

"Max." Jefferson turned sour. "As my model, you must be compliant to my instructions! Now turn over!"

Max refused to move, quickly infuriating him.

"TURN OVER!" Mark actually kicked her waist, and then backed off regretfully. "I'm sorry, Max! I didn't mean to—you just _don't_ listen!"

Max just sobbed down there through the pain, begging for this humiliation to end. Jefferson just sighed, frustrated, and then motioned to someone in the crowd to come over. "Mr. Prescott, would you mind being my wingman again?"

Hearing that name prompted Max to finally look up and see Jefferson's arm stretch out like an elastic band to pull out Nathan from the audience aggressively, almost tripping him over.

"Son, I'm going to need to turn her face-up and hold her there."

Nathan just stood next to his 'mentor' like a confused Igor. Unlike all the other apparitions, this Nathan didn't seem as conforming nor as thrilled over this situation; in fact, he looked just as terrified as Max.

"Please." Max begged to the boy. "You don't have to do this!"

" _Nathan_." Jefferson edged up to his protégé warningly and motioned him down to Max to _get to work_.

Bitterly, Nathan knelt down and proceeded to turn Max onto her back, but she kept trying to thrash out of his hold.

"No! NO! GET OF ME!"

She tried her best to wrestle Nathan, but he managed to roll her on her back and pin her hands above her head to expose her bare front. This made the onlooker cheer and whistle louder.

"That's good, Nathan."

Jefferson was full of glee as he snapped another picture of Max in this compromising position while Nathan had his face turned away, his obvious conscience trying to detach him.

Along with fear and violation, anger and betrayal consumed the victim's psyche as well. Max bit her lip to stop herself from screaming anymore.

* * *

"What's happening to Max!?" Chloe screamed to the entity.

"I'm—I'm trying to find her again!"

"You _LOST_ her!?"

"Be quiet!" Rachel snapped back; honestly, the more Chloe kept egging her, the more she increasingly wanted the punk out of here as well.

This time, Chloe didn't feel as keen to remain quiet. The longer this dragged on, the more her trust in Rachel dwindled. Still, she decided to suck it up a little longer.

Chloe shortly removed her hands from Max's head to wipe her sweat off, only to find long strands of her hair sticking to her palms; there was quite a few of them, much more than she would find on her hairbrush. She looked below to find more pieces littered on her thighs and the floor around them. She was now starting to lose hair, like a _cancer patient_.

 _Just how far will this go?_

Chloe unconsciously lifted a handful to show her mother, looking to her for answers she knows she won't get.

"Come on, Max!" Rachel cried, fighting to maintain composure.

Soon, Max's mouth started foaming. Chloe reacted by moving her face to one side to avoid her choking. The brunette's neck tensed as she let out another tortured cry.

"Please, Max!" Chloe begged from the depths of her heart. "Please don't do this!"

Rachel turned her attention to the family with grimness. "You have to get out of here too!"

Chloe shook furiously. "NO! I'M NOT LEAVING HER!"

"Chloe, please!" Rachel hesitated with what to say to her next. "Max would want you to be safe!"

"I DON'T FUCKING CARE, SHE… NEEDS ME HERE!" Chloe was very close to losing her voice altogether.

Rachel snorted, frustrated by this punk's stubbornness whilst admiring her devotion.

Joyce shifted in to try and reason with her daughter as well. "Honey, you have to listen to your friend."

"NO!" Chloe smacked her mother's reaching hand away. "THIS IS ALL MY FAULT!" Chloe breathed out and softened her tone. "All this is happening because I was always too fucking stupid to watch my own back! I pushed her to do this, because I'm so selfish!"

Unable to take more of this, David decided to step in. He stood up, picked Chloe up by the waist, and proceeded to carry her on his _shoulder_ out of the diner as she thumped and kicked him.

Joyce proceeded to follow her family, but not before planting a heavy-hearted kiss on Max's forehead. She looked into Rachel's eyes one last time and nodded, and then she too went.

* * *

Max was close to passing out from the sheer violation that all these ghouls, her own constructed demons, were inflicting upon her. She was too weak to move, or simply too terrified; she was limp as a ragdoll. She just gazed upwards to the ceiling in a blur. Even with her hands and legs now free, she dared not lift a single limb.

By this point, everyone had all gone, all except for Nathan and Jefferson. Whether they had all left voluntarily or just vanished into dust, she didn't know. She was just glad that at least that part was over.

Nathan was standing over, fidgeting with his fingers while hunched like a bent stalk.

Jefferson was probably back in front his computer, aweing over his 'artwork'.

All hope seemed lost. She was trapped alone in the worst hell of her mind. Her subconscious wanted it all to end.

"Chloe…" Max huffed.

She let her eyes shut for a moment, took in some deep breaths, and then released them back open.

In the faint distance of her blurred field of vision, she could spot a blue speck floating by and drifting closer, and as it did, that one spot became two, forming a pair of wings.

"Chloe." She repeated, this time with a tint of tranquility.

The blue butterfly landed right on her nose and sat there. She could tell that it was facing her as it gently flapped its sails.

" _Find your Ikigai._ " She then heard Rachel's voice through the confines. " _Your morning light, your reason to get up._ "

* * *

Having finally found Max's conscious again, Rachel decided on a different approach and scooped Max up so she could cradle her head to her shoulder, and then proceeded to rock her gently.

Chloe was sat outside on the curb, head buried in her knees; she felt so _useless_.

Kate approached her cautiously, but eventually mustered enough courage to sit down next to her.

"Don't lose hope, Chloe." She assured her, placing a careful hand on her back to rub her, thankful that she didn't flinch or shrug her off. "Max is very strong."

"For how much longer?" Chloe lifted her face but looked at the road emptily. She could cry no more tears.

"Have faith."

Chloe wanted to lash back, but stopped herself, understanding that this Kate just wanted to help her. "Do you think Max is being punished?" She asked, finally facing her.

"What do you mean?"

"Don't you _resent_ me?"

"Why would I? Because God somehow gave Max the gift to bend time and save you?"

"At the cost of many others? Yes." Chloe finished for her. "You should all fucking hate me!" Chloe buttoned her lips, realizing that she just swore in front of a devout Christian. "I'm sorry. I forgot that you're…"

"It's okay." Kate smiled and stroked her again.

"I just feel like she's getting the punishment _I_ deserve."

"That's not true."

"It is!" Chloe shouted. "God tried to kill me _three_ times!" She then took out the three bullets on her necklace to show to Kate. " _Three!_ "

Kate went silent now. Clearly, this punk just needed to vent, so she decided to let her.

"Max pulled me out of death each time, and what do I do? I kept treating her like shit, treating her powers like some toy. She busted more than her ass for me!" Chloe realized that she cussed again, but didn't care anymore. She just buried her face shamefully. "How can I call myself her _friend_?"

"You can pray."

"Pray?" Kate nodded. "I haven't done that in ages." Chloe looked back up at Kate softly. "Besides, I don't think the Big Guy up there would wanna hear prayers from _me_. I gave up after I lost my dad."

"I'm not trying to preach or anything, but I think it's worth a try."

Chloe sighed and nodded understandably and tried to compose herself.


	9. Chapter 9

**TRIGGER WARNING: This chapter is Rated M for scenes depicting attempted rape! Please be advised.  
**

* * *

 **Chapter 9**

Just when Max finally found herself able to relax a little, thanks to this butterfly's company, the crudely formed mass of Jefferson waltzed back over to her, shoving Nathan aside, and squatted closely to her face, _much_ too close.

He ran his tongue over his shark-like teeth like some cartoony animal as he leered her up and down. He then leaned closer until his lips are almost touching her ear. "You'll be my finest entry." He breathed.

Max clenched every fibre in her body to avoid cowering in front of him again. Enough was enough. She had to get out of here; she had managed to do it before, with her powers, in the real world.

Could she use her powers in _here_ in her own mind?

She sucked in a breath and mustered enough courage to glare right back at her tormentor, her face tightening into a scowl.

"No." She spat.

"What?" Jefferson dropped his perverse grin. "Could you repeat that, please?"

Max charged up with another intake of air and bellowed this time. "No!"

Nathan flinched at her loud defiant reply.

"And why is that?" Jefferson inquired, an eyebrow raised in genuine curiosity. "Because of Rachel?"

Max sealed her lips to him and just kept her scowl fixed.

"Because you both share the same powers?" Jefferson laid a hand on one of her bare legs and drifted it up towards her thigh, but then relented when a theory popped into his head. "Speaking of which, you both look so much alike, in terms of size and appearance. If you two had actually met, one could have mistaken you for twins." Mark looked over to Nathan. "What do you think?"

Nathan's mouth was as shut as Max's.

"In fact…" Jefferson turned back to Max, now wide-eyed as his theory thickened. "What if it _does_ run in the family? Have _you_ ever thought of that?"

Max stiffened, and then shifted her gaze, new questions seeding in her head.

* * *

While pacing along the sidewalk impatiently, away from others, Victoria felt a buzz in her pocket and pulled out her phone to check out what was up.

She saw that she had received a video from one of her friends, along with a message that read, ' _WTF? Is this 4 real?'_

Unnerving fear slithering up her spine, Victoria swiped her screen to unlock it to find her buffering video displaying a blurry but recognizable image. She could recognize the faded colour and outlines of the floor inside the diner, and a barrage of people down on there, wearing the significant colours of pink, blue, and a glow of amber that filled most of the thumbnail.

When the video finished loading and she pressed play, she found herself watching footage of Rachel boring into Max's head, taken by that same idiot who got kicked out by Frank just moments ago. Clearly, he cut out the last part before posting it.

 _Wait! That meant…_

Another message popped up right then, which caused the blonde's nerves to spike. It read, ' _It's all over FB right now! Evryone's talking abt it 8O'_.

"Shit." That was all she could say. She looked cautiously over to Kate and Chloe, wondering if it would be a good idea to show them this. Taking a second glance at the stressed punk, she decided against it, though she knew Max's best friend was going to find out eventually.

Chloe, still sitting with Kate leaned against her, was the first to hear sirens blaring in the distance. Calmly moving Kate's head off, she rose to listen better. It sounded like that were moving closer.

Kate followed suit as she too could hear the noise. "Could that be the ambulance?"

"I'm hoping to God they _better_ be." Chloe answered without turning to her.

Suddenly, she spun around when she sensed Frank approaching the Two Whales again and stormed up to him. "Hey! Back off!"

Frank faced her and did just that, throwing his hands up as if expecting a punch. "The fuck is _your_ problem?"

Kate caught up to the punk and stopped her before she could get too close to the drug dealer.

"You can relax." He proceeded to explain. "I'm not gonna do anything."

Chloe aimed at scowl at him, not really believing him.

"I was just gonna peek inside, that's all."

She still doesn't change her expression, but her body relaxes a little, allowing Kate to release her.

Something told Frank that this punk wanted an explanation, whether it was about Rachel or what will happen now between them.

"I'll give you kudos for throwing that one asshole out of the diner, comprende?" Chloe began. "But you have no right to be anywhere near Rachel after what's happened."

"Look, I get it, okay?" Frank sighed, knowing where this was going. "I sold Nathan the drugs that killed her!" His voice rose, trembling with growing vulnerability. "I'd do anything to bring her back!"

Chloe flinched and looked down, realizing the irony of that last statement.

"Apparently, _they_ can!" He added, pointing inside the diner. "Do you want me to say _I'm sorry_?" He started towards the punk, putting the bluenette back on edge like he always did in all their previous encounters, except instead of pulling a knife on her or twisting her arm, he was threatening to fall apart, his eyes welling up.

Frank stopped himself before he could get within arm's reach and slumped his shoulders. He shut his eyes painfully, shaking his head in defeat, and froze for what felt like a minute. He wiped his face and sniffled to try and contain himself.

Chloe remained silent too, simply to listen now to whatever he had to say next.

"This day has been a real mind-fuck."

The punk cleared her throat and pointed idly to Kate next to her, reminding him that he was in front of a devout Christian.

"I don't mind anymore." Kate waved her off.

"As for you and me?" Frank continued, side-glancing Chloe sternly. "Just know that I'll be staying clear of you all. Arcadia Bay's become a shithole! I want nothing to do with this town, with you, with your nerd friend… or _Rachel_ , anymore." Saying the last name faltered his demeanor a little. "It's best that her and I go our separate ways, but I'm hoping I'll get the chance to tell her that I'm sorry first."

* * *

Jefferson was back at it again, circling her like a predator to take more of his 'precious' shots.

This time, Max didn't bother to move or show any form of resistance or discomfort, as much as she could.

Nathan was off banging his head into a corner, muttering some nonsense to try and wash his own demons away; Max concluded that even this version of Nathan didn't like what he was doing.

Maybe she could get him to help her somehow…

Max waited until Jefferson finished his round and left the room to reach out to the tormented boy. "Nathan!"

As predicted, he turned to her with fearful eyes and came over to her while anxiously checking the curtains to make sure he didn't come back. He picked up a blanket that was draped over the couch to tuck over her shivering form.

"Thank you." Max looked up at Nathan and did her best to smile gratefully.

Nathan just stood over her mutely, fiddling with his hands; he looked like a lost child in the dark, jerking back and forth over where to go next.

"Is he gone?"

Nathan checked over his shoulder at the exit again and nodded.

Max moistened her lips before finally requesting. "Can you help me get out here, please?"

At this, Nathan hastily turned from her. "I—I can't…"

" _Please._ " She begged. "Nathan, I know you're a good person!"

"Bullshit!" He spun back to her, fists clenched in fury. "Don't start saying nice things to me now that you're all tied up and under my mercy!"

"I'm not under your mercy!" Max raised her head, along with her voice too. " _We're_ under _his!"_

"I'm not a good person!" Nathan clutched his shirt beneath his jacket where his heart is. "I drugged Kate and killed Rachel!"

"But you also tried to warn me about Jefferson in the end!"

"Everyone… _used_ me…" Nathan's voice was cracking as tears broke out, remembering all he went through. "I tried to do right too late! Besides, I'm not even _real_! Just a projection of your psyche, like all of this!" He flailed his hands all around the room.

"You still have that chance, Nathan!" Max lowered her voice and tried to sound more assuring. "Do you _still_ want Jefferson to use you?"

Nathan doesn't respond with any form of a yes or no answer, but he does return her a somewhat knowing glance like he wanted to believe her.

"Do this for Rachel Amber." Max concluded. "Be _brave_ for once."

At that moment, the same blue butterfly flew in between them, circling Nathan before landing by his feet in front of Max.

"And I don't know you, but this butterfly right here looks like it's trying to tell us something."

Suddenly, a hand reached over onto Nathan's shoulder and ripped him away from the girl; Jefferson had returned, looking even more grotesque than before. His skin had paled to ghostly white, eyes inked black with glowing red rings for irises.

With no more words to smear on her, Jefferson tore her blanket away, flipped her on her back, and then climbed on top to straddle her, pinning her hands above her face. He parted his teeth to let slip a forked tongue that sizzled her nerves as it rattled through the air.

Max, nor Nathan, could recognize the former art teacher anymore; a demonic creature had taken his place, wearing his hide as if he wasn't monstrous enough before.

But what he did next would haunt her forever. He lowered that tongue closer and closer towards her, ready to taste her all over.

"No… No! NO! PLEASE! DON'T!"

Nathan, beyond mortified, turned away from the sight, away from Max's shrieks, as his 'mentor' proceeded to have his way with her.

* * *

"Oh God…" Rachel felt Max whirring out of control against her own body as he powers began spiking like a livewire again. "No… No, No! Not now! Max!"

Too late…

Max threw her spine back as another surge of her energy blasted from her body and distorted the whole diner in time. Rachel herself got thrust up to the ceiling so forcefully that it cracked from her impact; she was now stuck up there like a piece of scrap metal against a lifting magnet, watching helplessly as Max was splayed on the floor once more, jolting crazily.

Her seizure had come back.

Outside, the light-feathered snow became needles of hail that showered upon everyone caught outside.

The people, like the cops who attempted to apprehend the entity earlier, were all completely immobilized, yet completely conscious as well.

Chloe was standing with Kate and Victoria, making way for the paramedics whom had just arrived and were about to rush through the door where Joyce pointed them to; now they were all reduced to painted statues with animated eyes.

No matter how hard she tried, Chloe couldn't move her neck; it felt like thick cables or wires that were inserted through every route of her bloodstream and nervous system thickened into metal and vibrated like a tuning fork.

For the cops, it was far worse than the first time it happened to them. Before, it felt like they were simply restrained by arcs of unreal energy. This was basically that, except needles were added to the mix forcing their way through their craniums and into their brains.

Everyone was experiencing this same pain, even _Pompidou_ , who couldn't even whine through his pain.

Chloe tried to move her neck, but gave up and instead tried to look with her eyes are far as she could into the diner, which also proved futile since she was faced the opposite way.

The only thing that Chloe could feel, other than the surging pain in her head, is the sinking realization that Max was having another seizure, the one that could vaporize her _mentally_ , according to Rachel.

* * *

Things took an even more bizarre turn inside Max's world. Just when Nathan mustered enough courage to tackle Jefferson off of Max before he could 'deflower' her, the whole place started shaking as though an earthquake had hit them. All the furniture and stands rocked back and forth, threatening to topple or slide from one end to another violently.

Nathan had Jefferson in a neck hold as they wrestled on the floor, right next to Max. "Go, Max!" Nathan shouted. "Get out of here!"

"You're not being very obedient, Prescott!" Jefferson grunted. "No wonder you're such an embarrassment to your father!"

"Fuck you!" Nathan seethed. "I will not be your bitch anymore!"

Taking her opportunity, Max was able to struggle to her feet, thanks to Jefferson cutting her ties so he could _spread_ her legs. The ceiling that held the bunker began to come apart as well. Wasting no more time, she strained her wrists until they too tore free from their restraints.

Max triumphed at her success for a split second before turning back to the two people still twisting and turning on the floor.

"What the fuck are you waiting for!?"

With that prompt, she took the blanket that Nathan gave to her and wrapped it over her shoulders; it was small enough to let her legs move freely.

"Tell… Rachel… when you see her… that I'm…" Jefferson's elbow connected with Nathan's nose, yet he refused to let go. He bit down the pain as he finished his sentence. "Tell her I'm sorry… please!"

Max nodded to him sadly, and then darted out of the bunker as fast as she could, managing to narrowly avoid every obstacle that was thrown her way.

"I'm sorry, Nathan." Was all she whispered as she fled the barn that the bunker dwelled below.

As she sprinted through the plain, free at last, she looked back one last time to see the walls around the barn come undone as it literally turned to glass and leveled by its roof.

From her distance, all there was left was a landfill of shards.

"I'm so sorry." She repeated.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Nathan's final words looped in Max's head so she wouldn't forget and she continued her sprint across the now invisible plain to nowhere in particular; all she cared about was running for her life from whatever was triggering this tremor.

Deep down, she _knew_ , but couldn't bear to face it. She was losing control… if she had _any_ to begin with.

She also started to lose feeling in her body, like it had begun to numb under her. When she looked down a little at her little hands swaying by her sides and in front of her, she noticed how harder they were to see, and at first, she thought it was because of the blurry motions, but once she actually stilled them, she made a new horrible discovery, which proved that it wasn't the case.

Her fingers, her palms, and her wrists had all turned transparent, resembling a glass sculpture, and this transformation was only continuing further to her elbows. It was only when she lost the feeling of moisture in those limbs as well that she made an even graver realization.

She was _vanishing,_ not transforming into any clear substance, but vanishing.

"Rachel!" She cried to anyone who could listen, _if_ anyone was even there to hear her. "CHLOE!"

Max was sobbing again, her sanity threatening to come undone from the sheer panic.

"I N—NEED YOU!"

* * *

"MAX! NO!" Rachel screamed as she tried forcing herself off the ceiling she was pinned up on; it felt like being pressed against the surface by a giant invisible thumb. Even for a spiritual time-bending entity, this was much pressure to take.

Right below her, the other time bender had her wrists suspended above her as though strings were jiggling them like loose limbs. Legs were bending in irregular angles like they were about to snap like twigs. By this point, Max had oozed out so much sweat and tears and Rachel believed she could literally melt at any moment.

"PLEASE, MAX! YOU HAVE TO FIGHT IT!" The force, restricting movement and making it extremely difficult for her to speak, clenched the entity's jaw. "FIND THE BUTTERFLY AGAIN! LET IT SEEK YOU!"

Outside, Chloe, much like everyone else, was helpless, as she could only listen with great apprehension to what was transpiring on a frightening level.

At the same time, she could feel a sharp pain forced into the front of her brain, cleaving ever so slowly into the soft organ like a hot knife.

Next, she felt her consciousness being pried away. She found herself blinking between the present and vivid images of other places that she could assume were part of her past, since each setting piqued some form of familiarity. Yet, her mind fought like a cat on a sofa to stay intact with her stationary body, only increasing the pain further.

Chloe could next feel a wet trail leaking down her nose that she could assume was her runny snot, but she then looked around with her eyes at other people and realized it was blood when she saw the same mess streaked on all their faces too.

Finally, she moved her sight to her mother and stepfather, both glancing back at her with the same terror.

She could only imagine what _their_ minds could be experiencing.

 _Is this what Rachel warned us about?_

With that question in mind, Chloe returned her gaze into the Two Whales.

Rachel summoned her own energy to try and counter Max's, and while it only pushed a bit of weight off her ribs, she managed to extend a hand out and pointed it straight below at Max.

She then closed her eyes and slowed her breaths to try and pore into her head once more; her influence wasn't going to be as strong without physical contact, but at her voice had to reach her somehow.

"Don't… give up… Max!" She tried to groan, though it came off more of as a raspy whisper instead. "You can't… let this…" She trailed off and continued to focus on reattaching their connection.

* * *

"T—This is it…" Max choked. Darkness contaminated everywhere, corroding her soul, her mind, and her heart. She could feel the last remnants of herself slipping, fading, out of existence. "I can't…"

She wanted to stop running. She wanted to lie down. She wanted rest. She wanted to let go. There was no use in trying to escape anymore.

Finally giving up, Max slowed down and allowed her knees to buckle like rusted beams. The rest followed as she sank onto the cold, invisible plain. She rolled to her side, into a fetal shell, as she prepared to accept her fate. By now, she was as glassy as a reflection on a window facing the bright sun.

"I'm sorry, Chloe." She hummed. "Forgive me, Rachel." She took in her next few pockets of air in sips, as though they would be her last to cherish; she was like a wanderer trapped in the Himalayas. "Mom… Dad…"

She drew out the faces of her parents and the setting of where she last saw them. It was back in Seattle, right before she departed for Arcadia Bay. She remembered the warmth of their arms around her, and the image of them waving goodbye to her, shrinking out of sight in her rearview mirror as she drove off through the highway into an uncertain future.

"Be safe, honey!" Her mother's last words echoed through the chamber.

"Say hi to the Prices for us!" Her dad followed up with.

Max, much to her _own_ surprise, chuckled at the irony. "For cereal, guys? You'd kill me right now." They were still stuck all the way back in Seattle, or speeding in their car to get here, terrified beyond all measure for her, and she was laughing about it in her own twisted psyche; all her tears had been used up.

She then thought back to Warren, the _real_ Warren, the one who wanted to impress her with his overzealous knowledge of movies and chemistry, the geek who always stood up for her, a friend she could always count on.

"I'm so sorry, Warren." She raised her tone so that whoever could be there could listen. "I'm sorry to all of you who lost your lives because of my selfish decision. I kept trying to fix things for myself. I should have died in that storm too. I've fucked everything up for life. Some _Everyday Hero_ I turned out to be, huh?" She waited a bit for an answer that she knew wouldn't come. "I get it, now. Dying _alone_ is how I'm being punished, right? My atonement… my… reckoning… and suddenly… I've become a _wordsmith_." Max laughed again, this time aloud. "Too bad no one can hear me!"

The girl was beyond exhausted. She relaxed and rolled to her back, facing skyward in exactly the same manner Chloe did after she was shot by Jefferson in the junkyard in one of their previous timelines. "Still… if I'm glad about one thing about my… or Rachel's powers…"

Max ran out verbal energy, so she gave up bothering to finish her last sentence. She's had enough of rambling.

She squinted open one last time to see the butterfly descend upon her forehead.

"What the fuck do you want _now_?" Maybe she wasn't _quite_ done mouthing off. "Haven't you caused me enough of a shit-storm already?" Chloe's attitude had definitely rubbed off on her. "You're right now… reminding me of the best and worst things…"

"Max…" Another voice called to her, as if it echoed through a tomb.

It took her about a second to recognize whom it belonged to, and she jerked out of her daze and focused up at the source. "R—Rachel?"

"Max, are you there?" Her repeat confirmed it, and Max shot back up, flinging the butterfly back off her head.

"Rachel! I'm here!" She flailed her hands, wondering if she can actually see her, unlike vice versa. "I thought you left me!"

" _Never_."

Without warning, her vision blinked back into the diner where she saw the blurred outline of Rachel pinned up against the ceiling, trying to reach out to her.

"Wait! What's going on? Where's Chloe!?"

And then she was back in the void.

"But Max, listen to me!" Rachel continued. "Your powers are going berserk! You're endangering everyone around you!"

"What!? I don't…" And then Max understood. "My seizure. It's affecting time, isn't it?"

"Worse." Rachel responded. "Your powers are sending each of their conscious back through time. They're all fighting to stay in the present! I don't know how much longer they can take it, though."

"No…" It felt as though a knife was then pointed to her soul. "I don't know what to do!"

She was about to become a memory, a vegetable, as Rachel told her. But worse, she was about to risk yet another time paradox. She couldn't bear that happening, not again.

Max heaved the deepest breaths she could ever take. "Rachel…"

"No!" Rachel knew immediately what this girl was about to ask. "Don't you dare!"

"I can't do this." Max sounded completely resigned; she was calm now, yet melancholy.

"Please, Max! You can't give up!"

"I'm _tired_ … kill me…"

"Absolutely not!"

"I'll end up killing everyone if you don't." Max had gone numb now. "Please, I beg you!"

"What about Chloe!?" Rachel's demeanor changed to that of anger and desperation. "Do you want her to lose _another_ friend!?"

"I would rather have her grieving for me than the other way round!"

* * *

As Rachel intensified their link, the entity felt her back finally being lowered ever so steadily off the ceiling; _something_ was working. "Well I don't! And neither does she!" Rachel briefly looked outside at Chloe once more and back. "I'm not going to let you go! I FORBID IT!"

As Max's energy continued to weaken bit by bit, Rachel could finally sink back to the floor. Once that was done, she cradled Max once more like a loving sister. As the entity gazed at her, she could see her eyelids gaping ever so slightly open, and she was even murmuring.

"Max? Is that you?" Delight coursed through her like pixie dust.

The girl just murmuring even more as a reply, a better sign, she hoped.

Outside, Chloe, as well as everyone else, could feel their struggle becoming easier to handle. Their hold on the present was now easier to maintain. The punk found that she was able to turn her head at last towards the diner, as well as loosen her rock-hard stance just a tad, and so did the others.

Their situation seemed to be improving, but Rachel had to be sure. She scanned Max's vital signs, only to find that it wasn't the case, at least for her physical health. Inside her head, there was a hemorrhage swelling in the center of her brain.

Rachel's glimmer of hope burned up like a ball of paper.

Max's seizures, combing with her powers, had stressed her to the point that it ruptured a vessel, and there was no way even she could fix that.

At long last, Max's seizure settled and ceased. Time had pulled itself back together. Everyone could move normally again, though they all lingered, shaken from their individual traumas.

"What… the fuck… was that!?" Frank bellowed through panted breaths.

Chloe, clutching her knees as she was coming to. Even the paramedics had yet to budge while they tried as well to process. Their stretcher was strewn on the pavement, having dropped it during the ordeal.

Rachel soon enough noticed the paramedics lingering outside. Maybe hope wasn't all lost, but she wasn't optimistic that they could help her either. All she knew was that Max needed to be on life-support _now_ , as in right this second.

Settling for her backup plan, Rachel embraced the other brunette one last time before she lifted her shirt up.

If she could transfer her powers into Max, then perhaps she could channel some of her essence into her bloodstream to at least stabilize her a little longer. She couldn't be certain, but she had to try.

"Here, Max." Rachel planted a soft kiss on her forehead.

With that, Rachel firmly yet gently bored her fingers, her palm, then her wrist, through her chest like gel until she literally had her hand clasped over the girl's heart. "This is all I can help you with for now."

Though still half-conscious, Max sounded a gasp as though her soul had returned itself to her body. She looked into Rachel's eyes once more before passing out again.

Finally, the entity could relax and smile upon the girl. "Hang in there." Feeling her own stability faltering due to this process, Rachel sucked it in and allowed her being to disperse into embers and float out through the exit. "We'll see each other again, I promise."

And so, she went, leaving her fate to the paramedics who finally pulled themselves together and rushed inside to scoop the girl's body onto their stretcher and carried her back outside.

"Let me through!" Chloe barged through the gathered onlookers so she could get her glimpse of her beloved, and hopefully get to touch her as well. When she made it to the front, only to be held back, there she saw her best friend strapped to the board as it was quickly moved into the ambulance.

"Max!" Her heart dented at her horrid complexion. She looked like a corpse. "Is she okay?" She asked one of the medics, but got no answer. "Answer me!"

David came by and pulled her away as the back doors were shut on her. The siren blared as the vehicle drove off. "Please, God. No!"

When Chloe was brought back to her mother, she fell into her arms, her legs giving way. Joyce held her tighter than she ever could and patted her back for as long as it would take.

"Tell me she's gonna make it!" Chloe sobbed into her shoulder.

"It's okay, honey."

"I hate myself!"

Chloe lifted her slimed face up. "W—We have to go see her!" Chloe hiccupped like a broken child. "I w—want my friend back!"


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

When consciousness returned to Max like a long forgotten friend, her eyes opened, only to be blinded by a white light. When her vision steadily adjusted to this brightness, she began to trace blurred outlines of where she was.

Her body was swaying on a moving surface, which meant that she had to be inside a vehicle. Blinking a bit more, she took note of the surroundings and could piece together what they were with the minimal details. She was lying inside an ambulance, being tended to by the medical team in white suits who had her hooked to all these machines to stabilize her. The rhythmic hissing she could hear was the sound of her own breaths inside an oxygen mask strapped to her mouth.

Her eyes shifted all around the room, hoping to spot traces of blue and black, only to find no such thing in here.

"C—Chl—Chloe…" Her first word since waking from her nightmare came out as a feeble moan. She wanted her so badly to be with her right now, not to be alone here with all these unknowns.

Max let her eyes close, as she printed the image of her glorious smile behind the shade of her eyelids. Soon enough, she was out again.

* * *

As soon as she was laid on the operating table, flooded under the surgical light, one nurse ran her scissors through the girl's shirt and bra to have it removed easily. But as soon as she exposed the young girl's chest, she reeled back, astounded by what she then saw.

"Doctor, you should come see this."

The doctor he motioned to, clearly entangled with partaking multiple tasks at once, nonetheless came over and paused mid-motion once he saw for himself what she was fussing over.

"Do you know how to… _explain_ this?"

The doctor withheld his answer as he leaned closer to examine this rare spectacle. He instructed another nurse to dim the light just a little bit to get a better view.

There was an amber luminescence pulsating deep from within her chest in the shape of what was apparently her own heart.

Some of the others gather round to marvel as well, whilst looking to one another for answers, and then to the doctor leading this procedure.

"I can't explain this." He finally answered.

"So what should we do, then?"

"Proceed with what we can for now."

With that statement, the team dispersed once more to fulfill their respective roles.

* * *

The dark clouds had long cleared since the incident at the Two Whales, yet it didn't like the storm was yet behind them.

After Max was taken away, everyone was taken to a field hospital that was set up in the middle of an open grass field, also outside of town. A mass of medical tents were set up there just hours after the storm. One section was where they kept they held injured survivors while the other was where they contained all the recovered casualties.

In some morbid fascination, Chloe had wandered over to the latter section to look over all the dead bodies with her cigarette in hand to numb her nerves.

At the moment, she was observing a girl that she recognized to be Dana from a distance away, weeping over Juliet's unmoving form. From the way she always saw these two together during her time in Blackwell, she knew they were close.

Chloe coughed when she puffed out her next intake of smoke, something that _rarely_ happened. She hadn't been able to focus nor relax for hours that felt like _days_. Her mind couldn't stop wrenching over Max, even though her life rested in the hands of the paramedics now. She regretted not getting into the ambulance with her when she had the chance, and now her friend was all alone, fighting for her life while she was here, chilling under the fresh air, alive but broken.

Tired of holding the little burning roll of paper between her fingers, she let it fall to the grass and stamped the embers out with her heel and moved on elsewhere; she had been walking aimlessly all over this camp just to let off steam, but clearly it wasn't helping as much as it should.

"Chloe?" The girl spun to find herself face to face with none other than her own mother. "I know this is difficult."

" _Difficult_?" Chloe scoffed. "More like _un-fucking-bearable_!"

"You can cut down on the language now, young lady." Joyce was stern for just a moment for she softened right again.

Chloe shook her head. "I'm sorry."

Joyce raised an eyebrow; Chloe being apologetic was a rare to witness these days, and she most likely had Max to thank for that.

From the way her mother stood pensively, Chloe had a feeling that she wasn't just here to check if her mood was improving. "I'm guessing you want the full story of what happened over this week, right?"

Joyce rolled her eyes in mid-thought, but then nodded. "That… would be very convenient."

* * *

Inside one of the lively tents, Chloe sat before her parents as she progressively filled in all the details for them.

Certain events she recalled had David crossing his arms over with a scowl. "So that night, it was _you two_ who were sneaking around and broke into Principal Wells' office?"

"Yes." Chloe clenched her teeth nervously, but quickly raised her hands defensively. " _But_ it was also where we discovered the first clues to Rachel's disappearance."

"Yet, you were willing to steal funds from the handicapped just to pay off this Frank." Joyce countered, her posture now mirroring David's.

Chloe sheepishly responded. "Max talked me out of it."

"That's not the point!"

"I know!" Fear of a looming onslaught was imminent. "But just let me finish first, for Max's sake. Besides, he wants nothing to do with me anymore."

" _Good_." They both said, dryly.

Chloe snorted and looked away, bitter that they were now ganging up on her.

The grown ups eventually eased on her as Chloe moved on to explain the rest of the story up until the point where they discovered Rachel's body, and how they went to the Vortex Club to try and lure Nathan out.

"Max suddenly came back from another timeline to warn me about the Art teacher, and how he was behind it all." Chloe swallowed. "In another timeline, he… killed me… and kidnapped Max." She then looked to David. "She also told me how you saved her."

David was perplexed. He had no such memory of that event, yet it gave him a weird sense of Déjà vu. He pieced together the rest of the story based on the memories of his own timeline. "And that's when she convinced you to come to me instead with the evidence."

Chloe nodded, but then her face darkened, eyes turning to her mother's. "That's not all."

Joyce waited questioningly for what she had to say.

"I don't know if I should be telling you this, Mom, but… _screw_ it!" Chloe shuddered as she visualized her late father. "There was another occurrence where she… went back in time five years to…"

"Five years?" Joyce asked. "To when?"

"It was through a photo." Chloe continued. "The one that Dad took of us before he…"

Joyce realized straight away which day that was and lowered her head. David looked to her sadly. "The day of the accident." Joyce completed dreadfully.

Chloe sighed. "Her consciousness went back into her younger self, kinda like what we experienced back there." They recalled that astral sensation.

"One second, I was here with my family." David interjected. "The next, I was back in the war; I could feel myself being pulled back there." He then shook, realizing that he interrupted the story. "Sorry, go on."

"So… Max hid the car keys so he wouldn't be able to find them, which meant that he would instead have to take the bus." Chloe smiled bitterly, but dropped it and hung her head to her knees. "But what happened instead was that after he got me a car for my birthday, I got into an accident instead."

Joyce feared what she would hear next. "Did you…?"

"No." Chloe shook. "I survived, but I became quadriplegic as a result." Tears ran down both their faces. "Both of you got to live your lives just to support my broken ass. I even asked Max to end my life when she came to see me again, she said."

"So what happened?"

Chloe decided to spare her mother the answer and moved on the rest. "She found our photo again and travelled back to that day again, this time, to do nothing but let my dad go."

The look on Joyce's face was that of sorrow and acceptance as Chloe finished off.

"And so, the reality we live in right now was restored."

Sighing, Joyce got up and left the tent to get some air. Neither David nor Chloe knew what her thoughts about this could be. To be fair, it was a _lot_ to take in. David turned back to Chloe and nodded to her before he followed her mother.

Chloe sat there, staring blankly to the ground. "Rachel, if you can hear me…"

* * *

Later that day, the family drove all the way back in David's car to discover what was left of their home.

There, the three stood before a landfill of bricks, beams, tiles, and cladding, sprinkled with pieces of glass from their windows.

"Yep, there goes our home." Chloe stated deadpan. "Bye, bye. Now what?"

"Good thing we got insurance." Said Joyce.

"Let's just… salvage what we can." David pointed out as started towards the debris first to begin just that, Joyce following suit. Chloe slumped miserably; she didn't feeling like doing this chore but knew she would have no say in the matter, so she had to drag herself.

* * *

"Why can't we just go to the hospital!?" Chloe yelled to the others far off.

She was idling over a pile of debris where her room roughly was, arms folded in annoyance. She had no clue what she was supposed to take from this mess.

"We'll do that in time, Chloe!" Joyce called after her. "Have you found anything yet?"

"No!" She responds aggressively. "There's nothing here that I want!"

Chloe wanted nothing more than to get away from these remains. She did just that as she lifted one foot after the other to make her way to a cleaner and more level area.

"We're wasting a hella lot of time." She slurred.

As she took out another smoke, something small but moving with grace was caught in the corner of her eye, and she shifted round to see a doe strolling over to her; it was an ordinary one this time. Despite being out of place, Chloe welcomed the presence of this animal. To her, it represented the spirit of both Rachel and Max.

Chloe pocketed her lighter before its flame could actually touch the end of her cigarette and squatted low enough for it to come closer. To her surprise, the doe seemed perfectly comfortable wit her as it nuzzled its nose into her chest.

For the first time in forever, Chloe lets out a chuckle, a real genuine chuckle as she ran her hands over its fur.

"Hey, Mom! Check this out!"

Joyce heard her daughter and shortly went over to see the adorable interaction. Her heart warmed from seeing a smile on Chloe's face again.

"Think I can keep it?"

* * *

Chloe laid in her own bed, in her sleeping shorts, soothed by the comfort of being in her room once more, arms and legs spread like an angel. Her pictures, furniture, and graffiti were all where they belonged.

But somehow, it felt artificial when knowing the real circumstances. Nevertheless, Chloe wanted to enjoy this fantasy while she could.

She then looked to both sides to discover that she had somehow grown a pair of blue butterfly wings that she could oscillate at will.

"Chloe…" A voice beckoned from above.

She turned to face the ceiling, only to instead be looking upon the bedridden form of Max in what appeared to be her hospital room. The brunette ironically looked as clean and delicate as ever as she looked straight back at her with a loving smile.

But that smile, Chloe didn't recognize was ever hers, nor the voice that uttered her name.

"Our doey-eyed hipster needs our blue butterfly." It was Rachel's voice that was coming out from Max's mouth. "I'm barely holding her together."

As Rachel extended Max's hand upwards to her, Chloe reached out to try and take it. The adjoining rooms worked as the walls shrunk until their fingers could touch.

"I'm here, Max."

* * *

Chloe awoke in the backseat of their car and took a moment to register that she was back in reality; she had managed to get some sleep while they travelled onwards again.

"Did you get a good sleep, honey?" Joyce asked, looking over as her stirring form.

Chloe pushed herself to a sitting position and simply moaned in response, which was a yes. "Are we there yet?" She then asked.

"Almost." David replied.

A few days had passed, but finally, there were en route to see Max at the hospital. None of them knew of her condition yet, other than that she was at least alive enough to have visitors.

"I'm coming, Super Max." Chloe said to herself deeply. "Please… hold on."

* * *

 **Author's Note: This is definitely one of the more quieter chapters. I'm basically slowing down the story a bit to give the characters and readers some time to breathe. This is more of a bridging chapter to the next event. Originally, I was going to leave it with the family finding Max in the hospital, but then decided to end it with them one the way. I plan to instead open the next chapter with their arrival, that way I can detail it instead of rushing it. I usually kinda rush my endings so that I can publish the chapter ASAP. Either way, I hope you all still enjoyed it. I pretty much have the endgame solid in my mind now, so I know where it's going to go now. Tune in to find out Max's condition. Thanks as always! ;)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

By the time that the family of three arrived at the hospital and found a decent parking spot just outside the building, they exited their car to find a large gathering of suits, cameras, and microphones, in front of the entrance. It was the press, having come all this way to make their coverage; it either had to do with the storm, or _something else_ , Chloe figured.

She hoped to God it wasn't the _latter_.

The security was there with enough numbers to blockade all those journalists and anchors from barging inside.

When one reporter turned her head and recognized the blue-haired punk from the video that went viral just as they approached, she felt the need to call it to everyone's attention.

"Hey, it's her! The other girl!" Aggressively, she pulled her cameraman along as she jousted up to them with her ready microphone. The rest of the press caught on and raced after her to get their scoop.

In less than a second, Chloe, Joyce, and David, had to now wade through a stall of microphones being shoved in their faces, all begging to get a scoop, questions were blowing up at them like firecrackers.

"Can you explain this phenomenon?"

"Do you know what's happening to Max Caulfield?"

"Are you familiar with her?"

"What's happened to Rachel Amber?"

"Is it true that they both have powers?"

"How long have you known the girl?"

"Can you give us any further information about Rachel's whereabouts?"

"What's the entity's connection to Max Caulfield?"

Neither of the three was in any such mood to answer their questions. They just wanted to get the hell inside so they could see Max, but these people weren't making it easy for them by the minute.

With a scowl, Chloe held a hand in front of her face to shield herself from the oncoming blows of camera flashes as David guided her and her mother through this jungle of nuisance.

Finally, they made it to the security. The guards parted to let them through so they could rush through the doors and get away.

Once inside, Chloe huffed on her knees like they had been squeezed between two rollers.

"Vultures." She spat. "Come on, let's _get_ already."

* * *

The whole atmosphere became a fridge to Chloe as a nurse led them through the hallway on the top floor. As she felt her friend drawing closer, she was both yearning and afraid to see her, and she couldn't tell which feeling was stronger.

When they found the door to Max's room, Chloe's heart began to drumroll and she held a breath.

"You nervous?" Joyce asked, noticing her tensed posture.

Chloe nodded while swallowing.

"She should be fine, honey."

"For Rachel's sake, I hope to God so."

When they entered to a room full of life-supporting machinery and IVs, they first found two figures standing between them and Max's bed, faces that neither Chloe nor Joyce would ever see again.

"Ryan! Vanessa!"

"Mr. and Mrs. Caulfield!"

Max's parents came over to greet the family with hugs and kisses.

"Chloe! Joyce!" Vanessa cried, cupping Chloe's cheeks. "It's so good to see you!"

"Right back at ya!" Chloe winked back.

Ryan went over to David to exchange a handshake. David was rather quite nervous meeting these new people who were past figures for his family, but he welcomed them nonetheless.

"I'm David." He introduced himself. "Joyce's husband."

"Nice to finally meet you." Ryan responded.

Vanessa came over shortly to hand him the same greeting. "I heard about what you've done for these people. Thank you so much!"

David smiled a little nervously, not used to such gratitude. "Not thanks really necessary, ma'am."

"There's no need to be so formal with us."

While the grown ups bathed in each other's welcome, Chloe broke away to approach the laying passed-out figure on the bed behind the curtains. When she brushed aside the blinds, there she found the grim sight of her beloved hipster cloaked in her bed sheet, hooked to various machines designed to keep her alive.

A bandage wrapped all around her scalp covered most of her face, making her _almost_ unidentifiable, and through the little gaps, she could see that all her beautiful hair had been shaved off; the doctors had definitely done their work. Her arm was hooked to an IV. Chloe could also swear she was dead if not for the steady beeping of her heart monitor. But most of all, there was a breathing apparatus tubed down her throat to keep her air passage flowing.

Chloe flinched but refused to let another tear escape this time. Grabbing a nearby chair, she sat right by her side and laced her fingers around Max's limp hand.

It felt so small, so light…

"Hey, baby." She cooed. "It's me, your crime-fighting companion." Chloe rested her longing gaze onto her friend's closed eyes. "I can't believe they fucking shaved all your hair off. _There will be blood_."

Looking to the window next to them, she gazed out at the baby blue radiance of the sky passing into the room that shone upon them both. She could finally release that contained breath, but it was neither from relief nor grief.

* * *

Shortly after, the doctor came in to check on his patient. Chloe and everyone else gathered around him to hear his update.

All peeled their ears as he filled them in on her condition, their operative process, and their next procedure.

"It's some sort of miracle that she survived." He began. "Although she had suffered a severe hemorrhage, we had managed with great adversity to maintain her for the time being."

"What do you mean, _maintain_?" Vanessa asked worriedly, mirroring Chloe's own thoughts. "Is she not saved?"

"For now, she is stabilized. We are thinking of our next course of action." The doctor shifted his gaze away warily.

Chloe sensed a rat. "There's something you're not telling us, is there?" She interrupted.

Looking to the blue-haired girl, the doctor sighed. "I… don't know how to explain this, so about I just show you all instead."

Immediately, all followed as the doctor closed the door, switched the lights off, and then moved to blind the window to darken the room.

"What's going on?" Pried Max's mother again.

"This." Now standing over Max, the doctor lifted the front of her gown to expose her chest, making sure to respectfully cover the rest of her body with the sheet.

Everyone gathered round the bed to stare in shock at the golden orb pulsing inside her chest.

Vanessa threw her hands over her mouth as she backed into her husband's arms.

Chloe and her own parents her just as flabbergasted.

"What the hell is this!?" The punk exclaimed, fearing that it looked like some sort of out-of-this-world infection.

"I… honestly have no clue." The doctor shook. "We were thinking of cutting it out at first. We have no idea what this is, but my instincts decided against it." The doctor then placed his stethoscope on her chest to make sure her heart rate and breathing were still steady. "This might not sound professional coming from a veteran like me, but I believe that this…" He struggled to find the best word to describe this unusual circumstance. "My gut tells me that this prospect might have something to do with her pulling through, _barely_."

With this new information, or theory, Chloe examined the orb in her chest as she began to put the pieces together. The colour and vibe of this spectacle felt strikingly similar to Rachel's presence back in the diner.

 _Could she have done this to help Max?_

"Rachel." She uttered.

"Excuse me?"

"This has to be Rachel."

The doctor raised an eyebrow in confusion at her statement. "I don't quite follow…"

"You heard about… the _entity_ … on the news, right?"

It took about a second for him to recollect. "Oh, yes! That's the talk of the town right now, more so than the storm now. I heard about it after the surgery."

"Then can you kinda see where I'm going with this?" Chloe was spinning her hands in hopes of communicating her point better. "I don't know how to really explain it either, but I just _know_ that it's Rachel. Okay?"

The doctor remained unresponsive until David stepped in to help elaborate.

"The entity that we know to be Rachel actually came and helped her through her seizure. I think what Chloe's trying to say is that _she_ might have something to do with that." He pointed to the aura in her chest again. "It even _looks_ that way too."

Now Ryan and Vanessa joined in the doctor's glare of confusion at the two, filling the room with deafening silence.

It was broken when the doctor cleared his throat and nodded. "Regardless, we've done what we could for now. We'll have to wait for further progress."

With that, he left the group of people in the room, remembering at the last second to switch the lights back on before he was out the door.

Chloe's family stood apart from Max's parents, whose faces read frustration and eagerness for some explanation.

"Yeah, it's a _long_ story." The girl began. "You better sit down."

"We'll take it from here." Joyce stated, and shifted past her daughter with David to take the two outside.

* * *

Out in the waiting hall, Max's parents were stilled and mystified as Joyce stood before them to show the viral footage of Max with the entity on her smartphone.

When the video ended, Vanessa slumped back against her chair while shaking her head, Ryan tucking an arm over her.

"I know how hard and confusing this is to accept." Joyce assured.

"It's… so much to take in right now."

* * *

Chloe, whom had been sitting inside with Max for the past hour got up and headed outside to search for a drink of water, but not before planting a kiss on her forehead.

"Thirsty… thirsty… _hella_ thirsty."

Finally, she came across a water dispenser and ripped a foam cup from its slot to begin filling it up.

But right when she pulled the handle to release a stream of water, a booming silence dropped around the entire building, causing her to jolt back and check all around her.

The faint ambience of staff walking about their business, as well as the low hum of the air conditioning, could no longer be heard.

When Chloe looked back at the water machine, she found that same stream of water sticking out of its nozzle like molded glass, beads floating at the end of it.

A striking realization prompted her to gulp the cupful she had collected before letting it go in mid air to run back where she came from.

"What the fuck is going on now?" She could wonder out loud.

Upon turning another corner, she found all the staff frozen in walking motion. Approaching one figure, she pressed a finger into the person's cheek to see if her skin had become rock solid. She found that it hadn't when she released her finger and left her pressure point there.

She then checked all over herself. "How am I still moving?"

Chloe proceeded further until she stopped in the waiting hall. There, she found their parents stuck in mid-motion as well while conversing.

"Mom! David!" She called for them, but to no avail of course.

"Chloe!" She heard a voice call to her from Max's room.

"Max?"

Immediately, she spun around and sprinted back into the room.

When she neared the doorway, there was a bright golden gleam shining out from inside; it was too bright to be normal daylight.

Once she entered, the brightness receded. She lowered her hand from her face to gaze in awe at the sight of Max, now sitting upright on her bed with her body expelling that gleam from its center.

Chloe's jaw hung open in shock and elation; her friend was finally awake.

"Max!" She sprinted over to the bed to wrap her in her arms. "You're awake!"

Max timidly returned the hug, only to then give an unforeseen reply with a different tone altogether.

"Chloe… it's me, Rachel."

Chloe threw herself off and gazed at this girl in bewilderment. That voice was Max's, but that tone… she recognized it as someone else's. Her posture and mannerism was borrowed.

As Chloe sunk in those words, she backed away from the bed anxiously; another presence had taken over her friend's body altogether.

"What. The. _Fuck_!"

"I need to explain myself." 'Rachel' continued. "This is where _you_ come in."

* * *

 **Author's Note: I know. This one took awhile. Surprisingly, this was a very easy chapter for me to write! The next chapter is going to explain what happened to Max and why Rachel is now somehow possessing her. We are one our way to entering the threshold to the final conflict of this story. I am so excited! Thank you all so much for reading this! It helps alot! I know I said this many times, but I can't say it enough! See you next time!  
**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

For days, it felt as though she were floating as scattered pieces of herself within this void of _nothing_ , neither alive nor truly dead, like weightless particles drifting through the sea.

When those pieces eventually assembled after taking time to find each other, her soul, her conscious, and her reason for being returned; she was put back together in orderly fashion from her mind, to her heart, and to the nerves that streamed everywhere else before being coated on with flesh, _her_ flesh.

In her fetal bubble, her golden heart sang its first beat of life, gentle but generously. When she lifted her head from her balled fists, she heaved in her first breath in ages.

Rachel had come back to life.

* * *

When Rachel's eyes slid open, some white lights quickly blinded her. When they sharpened into focus, they turned out to be just a couple of ceiling lights hanging above her bed in what appears to be a hospital room.

With her movement constrained, she moved her head around the room to try and get a better angle, but it proved difficult due to grogginess and this breathing tube that forced down her throat, the latter that was the main fuss.

Without really thinking of the risks, she lazily reached up to grab the plastic tube to carefully remove it out through her mouth. Once the pipe, greased in her own saliva, was out of her windpipe, she laid it gently to her side.

Next, she shuffled her weight up to a sitting position and raised her knees to rest her head against them so she could let the rest of her body catch up to this _grueling_ waking procedure… _if_ she was even in her own body at all.

When that thought crossed her mind, Rachel wound back to check out her own body. Her hands ran over her legs, her thighs, her waist, and all around her torso; she didn't need to check her bosom or other privates to make sure that she was at least the right _gender_.

"W—Where am I?" She murmured, her voice coming to. "How… am I?"

Her body was still that of a girl's, which was for sure, but she didn't feel that it belonged to her; despite being _dead_ for several months, Rachel remembered every curve, nook, and cranny of her own body, and that was when a realization cleared her senses.

"Is this…? Am I in… Max's body?"

When she touched her own face, she noted the difference of complexion in her jawline and the surface of her cheeks, slightly rougher than her own.

When she looked around the room once more to find the screen of her… _Max's_ heart monitor frozen and distorted; she had once again frozen time, but not through her own will. She couldn't tell whether she or Max was causing this, or their combined presence altogether.

Speaking of altogether, Rachel peered back down at Max's chest and lifted her gown to get a good glimpse of her glowing heart. Whether it was hers or Max's was yet another thing she couldn't tell.

Ironically enough, being inside this other's girl's body… it was as alive as she ever felt since her own life ended, just being able to feel everything like a normal human again.

Finally, her chest gleamed brighter until its shine flooded the whole room and the open doorway.

"Mom! David!" She heard a voice shout from outside, Chloe's.

"Chloe!" Rachel then called for her.

After a pocket of silence, she heard Chloe's footsteps cladding up to her room, and when she entered, Rachel ceased her blinding aura.

"Max!" Chloe sprinted towards her, believing, of course, that she was Max. "You're awake!"

Rachel awkwardly welcomed the hug that snagged around her like a bear trap. After enjoying the warmth of her missed embrace, Rachel decided to cut to the chase, knowing hoe bizarre she was going to sound. "Chloe… it's me, Rachel."

It was only at this point that Rachel also realized that she was speaking with Max's voice, which would make the situation even harder for her friend to believe.

Apparently however, Chloe must have sensed that something was off when the punk backed away from her with that perplexed look.

"What. The. _Fuck_!" She spat.

Rachel decided finally to fill her in. "I need to explain myself. This is where _you_ come in."

Chloe remained frozen for a minute, much like everyone else at the moment, before she eased down a bit. "Okay." She whispered, as if it all suddenly made sense. She went for the nearest chair and dragged it over so she could sit in front of her friend with her arms folded to hear her out.

"Start from the beginning." She commanded.

With an understanding nod, Rachel shuffled to face Chloe as well and closed her eyes gently as she proceeded to explain in the best way she could while patting to the glowing orb in her chest.

"I somehow managed to transfer my essence into Max's body to keep her alive when she had that second seizure, back in the diner."

Chloe raised an eyebrow as she tried to make her own conclusion. "So… you're her life support?"

Rachel nodded. "I'm literally holding her together, mind and soul."

Chloe leaned forward at the edge of her seat. "Is that how Max survived the operation?"

"It has to be." Rachel shook this time, not quite so sure herself. "My heart's regulating hers, at least that's what it feels like." She then looked to the floor space between them, her face drooping to that of sadness. "It took everything I had to keep her from falling into that _nothing_ forever." She gazed back up into Chloe's eyes, brimming with tears again. "She wanted me to end it, and I refused. Now, here I am in her body, somehow having taken over her conscious like some _leech_."

Chloe could taste the disgust in her friend's voice from that last statement.

"It's some sort of side-effect, I suppose." Rachel shook and sighed. "I'm so sorry, Chloe. I thought I could do it on my own, but she's more powerful than I imagined."

Chloe reached an arm over to touch her shoulder. "Is there a way we can still help her, _Rachel_? Is _Max_ still in here?" And as an afterthought, she also had to ask this. "And how come everyone in this hospital is frozen except for me."

"Let's just call it _selective timing_ , like how I froze those cops who tried to shoot me." Rachel regained some composure. "And to answer your other question: _yes_. There is one way, but it's very risky; _this is where you come in_."

"I'll do anything." Chloe declared. "Just bring me my Maxy back."

Smiling through Max, Rachel shuffled up her bed again and motioned Chloe to the space she made for her. "Sit up here and face me." She instructed.

Chloe removed her beanie, jacket, and shoes, as she followed that first step.

"Come closer."

"How close?"

"Chest to chest."

Reluctantly, Chloe shifted until her knees touched Max's. Rachel took one of the bluenette's crossed legs and hooked it around over thigh, and then did the same, vice versa.

This kind of position became rather awkward for Chloe. "Are we gonna be practicing some sort of _sex ritual_ or something?"

"Don't get excited." Rachel responded, reverting to her serious monotone.

"Okay… but seriously, what are we doing?"

"You're going to be entering Max's mind." She stated bluntly, shocking the girl. "You need to find her before she loses herself completely. Can you do that?"

Chloe took a moment before answering determinedly. "Abso- _fucking_ -lutely yes!"

"Good."

In truth, she had no idea if this would work, but the hope of seeing her beloved was what drove her to do this.

With that, Rachel pulled each other together until their heads were chinned on the other's shoulder while they embraced.

Chloe imagined Max, the _real_ Max, speaking to her as Rachel whispered into her ear. "Close your eyes. Take some deep breaths. Breathe all the way in. All the way out."

Chloe did as instructed and took in a bagful of air with each intake and freed it as steadily as possible.

"Escape your worries. Escape from outside. Escape inwards. Time has no affect on you. Feel yourself drifting away from this world and into the next entirely."

As she continued cycling these long breaths, Chloe felt a hum of energy wrapping around her body, flowing through her veins like a smooth electrical current.

"You're a blue butterfly dancing in the open air."

Next, she could feel her conscious leaving her body and floating up like a weak helium balloon, passing into the astral realm, even thought she remained still and her eyes stayed shut.

"You fly back to mother nature, where all the trees and flowers are. You are looking for a doe, a lone young doe."

* * *

" _You did it._ " Rachel's real voice boomed from everywhere delightedly.

Chloe felt a lick of cold air brush her exposed skin. When she opened her eyes, she gasped and swayed around as she found herself now sitting in the midst of an endless lime grass field, washed over by the tangerine sun gleaming down through the passing fog surrounding her.

" _This is where you come in._ "

Chloe rose to her feet and idled there to take in this magnificent scenery, her eyes almost watering. "It's beautiful. It looks like something straight out of _Deviantart_."

" _This is the world where Max's mentality escaped to. You must find her._ "

"How?"

" _Feel_."

"What? What does that even…"

" _Each setting you find here represents an aspect of her life, whether a memory, her imagination, or something reflective of her character._ "

Chloe rests her hands on her hips as she thinks over this. She drummed her fingers until she conjures some idea of what this setting in particular is. "Well… I don't recall this area, so it's definitely out of a dream somewhere." She frowned however as a sense of familiarity itched her. "But there's also something else… something…"

" _Nostalgic?_ "

"Yes." Chloe snapped her fingers. "But where the hell do I start?"

" _Where do you feel that you should start?_ " Rachel asked her.

As Chloe thought over this, she then heard a faint chatter from the distance through the thickness of the mist; it sounded like that of a child's.

"Come on, Che!" She heard.

"Max!"

Finally understanding what Rachel meant when she told her to feel, it suddenly became general for Chloe to just wander that way. The voice sounded a lot younger, but it definitely Max's, she was sure of it.

Moving through this field, she felt light as a feather, yet immovable at the same time.

" _Find your ikigai._ " Rachel's voice hushed from the heavens.

* * *

Back in the hospital, time resumed its course, but everyone jolted at the passing sensation of power.

Joyce, David, Ryan, and Vanessa, all went rigid for a moment after returning to animation. Their hearts raced, their breaths sharp and hurried.

Max's parents were left bewildered by the experience; even though it went by in a split second, it felt as though their spirits were held in a deadlock. But what was foreign to them was more familiar to Joyce and David as they looked to each other knowingly.

"W—What happened?" Vanessa stuttered and looked to the others. "Did anyone else… feel that?"

"Max!" Joyce cried.

Immediately, she and David, followed hazily by the Caulfields, rushed back to Max's room where they found a huddling group of nurses and doctors flocking just outside her doorway, shielding this golden blue brightness that was coming from inside.

The parents forced themselves through the crowd all the way to the front where they discovered their entrance being walled by some… _aspic_ barrier.

"What is this?" Vanessa cried.

Daringly, Joyce touched the surface to find her fingers passing through what felt to her like hardened clay as they distorted. She pulled her hand away and looked to David. "Do you think this is another time distortion?"

David could only shrug and shake his head.

When Max's parents got their glimpse into the room, they gasped upon what they saw.

There, sitting on the hospital bed, Max and Chloe were wrapped in each other, both bodies expelling the different-coloured shines; Max's was golden while Chloe's was cyan.

"Max!" Vanessa shrieked. She was about to dash inside, only to be restrained by her husband. "Let go! That's my daughter! What's happening to her!?"

No one could answer her question.

Joyce, deciding to keep her head level, turned to the other woman and gripped her shoulders to calm her down. Once she did, Joyce tried comforting her, one mother to another. "It's okay, Vanessa. Whatever this is, we have to leave it in their hands now."

Vanessa shot her the darkest frown she could conjure, too stressed to understand what she was talking about. "Elaborate." She ordered.

Meanwhile, everyone else, including David, continued to be mesmerized, both perturbed yet fascinated by this image; the juxtaposed gleams of Max and Chloe embodied some sort of _Yin and Yang_.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** **The scene where Chloe enters the grass field in Max's mind was heavily inspired by a scene from the last season of Samurai Jack where he enters the astral dimension to search for his sword, it's been lingering in my mind since that episode aired and I couldn't wait to incorporate that into my story, especially with the ambient music that played in the background. You'll also notice that I changed the story's rating back to a T, but I marked some chapters as M for a heads-up. We have entered the final conflict! Will Chloe be able to bring Max from the brink of oblivion? Find out in the next few chapters!**

 **Btw, who else lost their shit when they saw the new trailer for Life is Strange Before the Storm? :D**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Chloe strolled through the ethereal grass field, taking in how comfortable the soles of her feet were as they pressed into the cushioning surface, having removed her boots and socks to carry them beside her instead.

She shortly took off her beanie as well to let the air weave through her flapping hair; it felt like an aura cleansing her of any negativity.

She soon walked into a swarm of butterflies, all different variations of the colour blue and purple flocking around her.

One of them perched onto Chloe's wrist as she raised it, another on her shoulder, on her head, back, and so on.

"Wow, Max." Chloe exclaimed and giggled. "This is one hella _butterfly fetish_ you got here!" She raised an eyebrow mischievously. "I wonder _why_?"

At that moment, Chloe peered ahead to see a yellow glowing aura strolling up to her from the mist, and then it stopped before it could come into clear view, idling there as if wanting _her_ to come over instead.

All the butterflies latching onto Chloe fluttered away abruptly, as if startled by this new presence.

The girl, on the other hand, felt no such trepidation, as she surely enough recognized this presence. "Rachel? Is that you?"

The aura didn't answer. Instead, it spins around, revealing its shape to be a doe, her spirit animal again, before disappearing.

"Hey, wait up!" She reached out.

As she herself ran to catch up, the rising sizzle of oceanic waves reaches her ears, followed by the faint squawking of seagulls. Also, the corner of her vision caught the outline of a towering lighthouse in the distance, wheeling its searchlight around its landscape vigilantly; she was definitely nearing a beach.

"That's _our_ lighthouse, isn't it?" Chloe pondered aloud to herself. "Where Max and I began and ended our time quest… or so it _seemed_."

" _Where she made her final decision."_ Rachel added.

Chloe hung her head regretfully. "Yes…"

" _Don't, Chloe!"_ The voice commanded sharply, easily reading her thoughts. _"Don't do that again!"_

"It's hard…"

" _I know."_ Rachel softens her tone again. _"But we can only move forward now, for Max. She'd want that too."_

Chloe sighed. "You're right."

She journeyed on a little further until the prickling vegetation basing her steps turned into dry powder; it was sand. The wind blowing at her front escalated, parting the mist that obscured her vision to reveal a beautiful colour scheme landscaping the shore.

The orange halo from the low-hanging sun lit up Chloe's moistened eyes as much as it sparkled off the humbled ocean.

"The scenery's so beautiful." She choked. "It makes want to paint something."

" _Why don't you?"_ Rachel had to prod.

Chloe cleared her throat, unsure for a moment until the right answer came to her. "Because I'm a self-loathing dumbass."

She could swear that she heard Rachel chuckle at her right then.

" _You always did fancy art, with all your tattoos and graffiti snaked all over your room."_

"And some public places that would get me _arrested_."

They shared another laugh; it was like old times again.

Once that was out of her system, Chloe shook back to her senses, remembering their mission, and started left along the wet sand, feeling that it was the right way to go whilst enjoying having her feet dirtied and washed over and over again by the lapping water.

"I think I'll tell Max about this."

Right then, another question popped into the girl's head. "Hey, Rach!" She called up to the heavens.

" _Yes?"_

"What am I supposed to do _once_ I find her?"

" _Whatever you can to bring her back."_

"Wow, way to be cryptic." Chloe looked back ahead, now a little worried about what her answer might have meant. Regardless, she refrained from pressing her further.

Along the way, something not too far ahead caught her eye, and she stopped to squint ahead, finally letting her boots and beanie fall free from her fingers.

It looked like there was a sailing boat up there, sitting just next to water, ready to be carried away, but not just that; there was someone sitting in it as well, a blonde young girl.

Chloe quickened her pace until she was basically jogging towards that boat, deciding to forget her boots and hat, as she was eager to discover whom the person inside it was.

Her first thought was Max, which was quickly withdrawn. Her second and more sensible guess was that it could be another form of Rachel.

Once Chloe slowed near enough to the boat, the mysterious blonde girl finally turned to face her with a mirror that turned her clock _five years back_. She stood agape at her features that matched her own, from the long chin, to the narrow face, and to her diamond eyes that reflected a sparkle of life long forgotten through her teens.

She was staring in the face of her younger self.

"Hi." The young girl waved to her shyly.

"Hey." Chloe waved back in the same way. The gloss around her eyes starts to produce tears that streamed uncontrollably down her face. "How are you?"

"I'm good." Her younger self answered with a smile, which fell short when she noticed her tears. "Why are you crying?"

Chloe shook her head and half-chortled. "I… have no idea."

"Here…" Without thinking twice, the younger Chloe climbed out of the boat and threw her arms apart so she could run over to hook them around the older girl's waist. "You look like you need it."

Chloe squatted to her level and returned the hug. She tightened her hold around this warmth, this innocence, this flame, when she wheezed loudly and broke down.

Two bodies, two manifestations sharing one soul and one heart drowned in each other's comfort.

The child didn't flinch; she just held this teen for as long as both needed as emotions came pouring out like water squeezed from a wet rag, patting and rubbing her back even until her pops gradually settled.

"I… m—miss you." The older Chloe managed to choke out. "I've lost you… for _so long_."

The little girl pulled herself off of the bigger Chloe's shoulder to face her; suddenly, they were two sisters who knew each other more than any other.

"Let's go on a pirate adventure!" She whispered playfully as she then placed a pirate hat on her head before taking out an eye patch to cover her own eye with. "You can be the captain!"

Chloe stood up an adjusted the hat before standing proudly against the backdrop of the golden hour like another one of those children's book illustrations.

" _Yes, me hearties!_ " She stated, pulling off her best pirate impression. " _Make you ready!_ "

" _ARRRRGH!_ " They both cried.

* * *

Two Chloes, side by side, sailed away from land to venture forth into parts unknown to either, the older one guiding the sail; it was an odyssey now.

Further on, the wind heightened its intensity again, stirring up the ocean to make their ride a lot bumpier.

"Hold on to your butts!" Yelled the younger Chloe.

"Hey! I'm the one who's supposed to give the orders!"

Nevertheless, they reinforced themselves to withstand the battering as waves crashed against the sides of their boat, now rocking it back and forth, as well as sideways.

"Whoa, shit!" The young Chloe was nearly thrown overboard.

"Language!"

"Says _you_!"

* * *

When the weather settled and the sea leveled again somewhat, both girls sat to catch their breath.

"Sailing… is a lot harder… than it looks." The older Chloe worded out through her panting.

"I know, right?" The young Chloe managed to ease her breaths sooner, and then looked to her captain for directions. "So what now?"

Still a little out of breath to answer her verbally, the older Chloe just shook unsurely and turned to look far out ahead where the sun had began to set over the horizon.

Both Chloes watched as this warm circular orb vanished below the sea line completely, taking with it the remaining gleam of day.

In its place, a moon waxed into existence high in the violet night sky, now glittering with stars all around.

The girls were left idling as silhouettes with only the faint reflection from the moonshine to outline their features as they absorbed this new astronomical sight.

"What now, indeed." The older Chloe repeated before slumping against the rim.

They were stuck, and she couldn't tell whether they made a wrong turn somewhere or not.

"I know a way." The young Chloe suddenly said.

Confused but curious, the older Chloe turned back to the other girl to find her glowing in a bright blue aura that shone upon the entire boat, a building of energy. When she became bright enough that her features were no longer visible, the girl then dispersed into a cluster of butterflies.

The remaining Chloe was thrown back, both from the expelling force and shock. When she got back up, she bounded for the empty space where her younger self; she was afraid that she may have just vanished into nothing.

" _Relax._ " Chloe heard her own voice whisper to her, which immediately settled her down. _"I'm still here."_

"How the fuck?"

" _Language."_ As she stood up in the boat, those butterflies circled around her and then perched on every part of her body, much like before on the grass field. _"Keep still."_ She was advised.

"What are you doing?"

" _Giving you wings."_

Right then, Chloe felt a hum of energy build up from the center of her heart and surge outwards through her spine, to her arms and legs, and to her toes and fingers.

Soon enough, just like her younger self did moments ago, she herself began to glow bright blue, only she wasn't quite as calm about the process.

Next, she found her weight being lifted from the boat, as though by a string. Now floating in the air, Chloe unconsciously curled into herself as she felt her back tensing; it felt as though something wanted to come out.

And then she remembered the younger Chloe's last words and realized what was happening.

Eventually, a pair of arctic blue sails ripped out through her skin and bloated outwards to form wings that carried her higher from the sea as they flapped graciously without effort.

At the same time, Chloe felt the end of her hair strands touch the back of her neck and shoulders before sliding down lower to her chest and back; her hair was _growing_.

When her transformation was complete and the brightness toned down, Chloe split her eyes wide open as she looked down at herself.

"What the fuck!? I'm actually _flying_!"

Inspecting herself, Chloe discovered that all her clothes had been blown away, replaced by pure white essence that covered and shaped her whole figure until her upper body, just below her arms and shoulders.

She took a handful of her lengthened hair and laced them through her fingers to find the ends glowing as well.

Finally, she peered down at the rippling water to see the reflection of her glowing aura; it resembled a _fairy_.

"Great, now I'm a fairy."

" _Come on, Chloe."_ Rachel's voice returned to shake her out of her daze. _"You look beautiful, but we have to go."_

Snapping out of it, Chloe turned herself back to the horizon with a renewed sense of direction and power took off into the stars, allowing her brand new wings to take her as high as she could go with a determined smile.

"I'm coming, Super Max!" She declared. "I'm coming to get you, because I cannot wait to show you my new _look_!"

* * *

 **Author's Note: Surprise! I got you a new chapter early! You're welcome! This was a pretty exciting but difficult chapter for me to write for many reasons. I wanted to skate through the part where Chloe meets her younger self on the beach and get right to sailing across the sea, but as I wrote through that scene, I actually put myself in her shoes (even though she took them off hawhaw) and decided to let the reunion sink in, leading to that emotional scene. On the other hand, I had a hard time differentiating between the two Chloes. I will come back to refine this chapter and all others in the future; I just want to finish this story first. Her transformation into the butterfly symbolizes Chloe coming to terms with who she is, who she used to be, and who she can still be.  
**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter nonetheless :) Pls drop a review. Let me know what you like about this chapter or didn't like. What's your favorite part of this entire story so far. Pls let me know ;)**

 **See you all next time!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

With her newfound ability to glide through the open air, Chloe flew down closely to the sea level and brushed her palm and fingers on the surface, trails of powder-white foam sprouting behind her; it made the inner child in her giggle.

Raising her altitude again, she changed into a daredevil when she decided to practice a few flips and corkscrews; she also attempted a close dive towards the water before pulling back up, which nearly proved fatal.

Settling herself shortly, Chloe turned until she was floating on her back to look back up to the star field above, her arms and fingers spread open to balance herself.

 _This is what it feels like to be free. This is what it feels like to have power. Hella awesome!_

As she continued staring to the night sky like another canvas masterpiece, she brought one hand over her face and squinted when a bright gold aura emerged from that backdrop. Freeing her gaze, Chloe watched in awe as this… _spiritual glow_ … writhed and steamed like an underwater ribbon.

" _Aurora Borealis_." Chloe stated quietly, recalling what her father, William, used to call these kinds of lights. "I guess I'm supposed to go up there, huh?"

Following her instinct, Chloe faced back down so she could shoot straight upwards to follow that northern light, or whatever it was.

When she neared this golden mist, it too began to travel upwards in a straight. This forced the winged bluenette to work her new muscles harder just to keep up.

From the way they continued ascending upwards without any hint of changing course, she had to wonder if she was about to be taken into outer space.

" _Don't worry, Chloe."_ Rachel's voice projected from the aura, as if reading her mind. _"We're not taking you to outer space."_

"Then… where are we headed?"

" _Anyway the wind blows…_ "

Chloe froze up upon hearing that other voice that answered her. It was a man's, but not only that, there was a familiar sing-song tone in it that sent waves of shivers down her spine; it was one she believed she would never hear again in her life.

" _Dad?_ "

It was mistake, for it was the voice of _William_.

In a matter of time, a swirl of pure white energy that appeared to be some wormhole was within sight as they drew closer to it.

"I—Is this where we're supposed to go?" Chloe asked Rachel, getting nervous.

" _You tell me._ " She simply replied. " _Or better yet…"_

Immediately, before Chloe could process it, she was already enveloped in this wormhole's brightness. Any semblance of control she had over her path slipped away as she felt herself being towed through this surging tunnel, the outlines of her body disappearing in this whitewash; to her, it was like entering light speed as seen in those space movies.

Normally, she would be panicking and thrashing about, but the voices of her late father and friend provided her enough comfort to breathe and trust this route she was being taken through.

" _Anyway the wind blows…"_ Chloe repeated. "Whatever the hell that means."

Just as the winged girl managed to balance herself, she felt an unseen surface careening her way, and instinctively, she folded both arms over her face to brace for whatever impact.

"Oh, shit!"

She felt her body shoot out of the wormhole like a cannon before diving into a substance of powder that softened her crash-landing.

Chloe remained prone for a moment before lifting her head to find herself her hands pressed deeply into sand, white as snow and glittery as diamonds. Since no injury was sustained anywhere, she angled her head over her shoulder to find that she had left a graze trail from when she skidded upon touchdown.

"Great fucking landing." She commented.

A tower in the distance ahead of where she saw looking got her to scope her attention further to see that it was the same lighthouse again, except this time it appeared somewhat less detailed, even from her distance, as though it was an enlarged miniature model.

"That's another dollar for the swear jar." A manly voice spoke out of the blue.

Chloe whirled her head back in front of her to find a grown blonde man standing over her with a gleaming smile. "D—Dad?"

William lent a hand to help her up, but Chloe instead scuffed to her feet on her own and eyed him up and down with a gaping maw.

"I—Is that r—really you?" She stumbled on her words, long unresolved emotions threatening to break loose again.

William simply raised an eyebrow as he checked out her blue long hair and wings and simply chuckled. "What the hell are you dressed as? I thought you were too old to be trick-or-treating."

"What are you doing here?" Chloe brought a hand up to her father's face, half-reluctant to accept his presence. "Are you really even here?"

William softened his smile and lowered his head a little. "I'm here to help you save your _Maxy-poo_."

She stepped back a bit to find that he was dressed in normal clothes consisting of a check shirt jacketing over a white top and a pair of dark jeans; these were the same clothes he wore on the day he… _left_.

Chloe finally let herself as she fell into his embrace, sobbing hard into his chest.

William held her and rocked back and forth like she was still a child.

"I'm so sorry, Chloe." He said. "I wish I hadn't left to pick up Joyce. I wish I hadn't walked out that door that day. I wish I could take it all back to see you grow."

"It's not your fault!" Chloe replied, taking her face off to look up at him with her glossed blue orbs. "What I said about you in the truck to Max… I didn't mean it! It was never your fault! I was just so angry about my life after you left me! I've lost so much!"

"I know, I know!"

"I miss you so much!"

"I miss you too, but you know you can only move forward."

"I've many so many mistakes!" She sniffled. "One fuck-up after another!"

"So have I, but we have to live with them, don't we?" William assured her. "Even Max."

Chloe couldn't help but let out a sad giggle. "I miss having you boss me around. I used to _hate_ it."

William hummed in agreement and then released her, which was Chloe's queue to get back her focus on Max.

"We should find Max, now." Chloe stated matter-of-factly as she wiped her face.

"Lead on, Macduff." William answered, pointing away to the lighthouse.

Chloe took her father's hand, lacing her fingers comfortably between his, and began lifting him off the ground as she took off with her wings; he was surprisingly light, despite his big frame.

"Let's defy gravity!" William cheered, and they were off towards the lighthouse.

As they flew together with their hands still linked, they couldn't stop smiling at one another like two little children playing in the rain; it was always their fantasy to fly.

Not only that, Chloe was flying with her _father_. She wanted this to last forever.

"If only we could replay this." William remarked, as if reading his daughter's mind. "Over and over again, it won't have to end."

"Yeah, but it wouldn't be a moment, would it?" Chloe answered.

"I got another question." William's tone was more serious this time.

"Okay?"

William suddenly pointed down, and Chloe followed his finger to find a miniature model of their house with the half-painted blue.

"Could you all do me the kindness of finishing my paint job, please? I just don't like how it was left unfinished."

Chloe swallowed a lump, remembering how he was in the process of painting the entire front area blue before he died.

"I promise." She finally said, empowered with determination. "I'm even thinking of becoming an artist."

William then raised a devious brow. "Are you also thinking of _marrying_ Max?"

"WHAT!?" She shrieked.

Chloe was so shocked by that random question that her broken concentration caused them to barrel down. Luckily, she regained control and managed to land them both safely in front of the lighthouse.

Once they were safely on the ground, William unleashed a howl of laughter and hooked the girl into a headlock to rub her noggin.

"Dad! T—That's not funny!" Chloe protested, trying to remain serious but failing.

"Yes it is!" He shot back. "You always told me how you never want to be away from her!"

"Dad! We have a mission!"

Finally, William let go and raised his hands up in surrender but didn't drop his smugness. "Of course, let's go save your _damsel in distress_."

Rolling her eyes, they turned their full attention back to the lighthouse, now as big as the real thing up close.

Chloe pealed her ears wider to hear a noise creaking from up top… it sounded like someone sobbing.

Wasting no time, Chloe flew up with her dad in tow once more. Once on top, William followed closely as she darted from one place to another around the inactive searchlight to search for the source of that cry with high hopes.

Another voice joined the company shortly. "Come on, it's okay."

Chloe stiffened for a split second, recognizing it immediately, and hurried there.

Eventually, there, seated against the railing on the other end was Rachel enveloping her golden essence around another girl, whom was shivering and whimpering like crazy.

When Rachel noticed Chloe and William's presence, she turned her head up to them with tearful delight. "Oh my God, you made it!"

The other girl lifted her head from Rachel's shoulder to reveal the drained but unmistakable face of Max Caulfield in the flesh. When her ringed eyes met Chloe's, they steadily widened into circles as her jaw hung loose.

"C—Chloe?" She croaked.

 _It's her! It's really her!_

Unable to contain her joy, Chloe dashed towards her and scooped her thin frame from Rachel into her own arms. She laughed and cried and wailed.

"Max!" She cried. "Oh, Max! My baby! Is that really you?" Chloe pulled back and cupped her face like a cherished artifact. "What happened to you?"

Max took a moment of silence to gaze back at her through half-lidded eyes before raising a hand to touch her face as well.

"I—Is that really you?"

Chloe nodded furiously, more tears breaking loose. "Can you say it, please?"

Confused at first, Max then looked around her to awe at her longer blue hair, her whitened glowing body, and her sheening blue butterfly wings. If she had more strength, she would try to feel them all over.

Now understanding, Max said it.

" _Wowser_! You look… _amazeballs_!" Her voice, though weak, had that same bright flair.

When it was Chloe's turn to check her out, she noticed how much skinnier she had become in her time here, not to mention that she had nothing on her body but a towel.

"N—Nathan." Max suddenly uttered. "Nathan… is… sorry."

The mere mention of that spoiled rich kid caused her to clench her jaw and tighten her hold on Max, unintentionally hurting her. When the shorthaired brunette hissed, Chloe realized quickly and relented.

"I know he is." Rachel answered Max, nodding in acknowledgement.

"What will happen to you?" Chloe asked Rachel suddenly.

Before she could get her answer, William came over and patted Chloe's shoulder. "Better we ask those questions later, don't you think?"

Chloe nodded, knowing he was right, but she had to ask Rachel another question. "What to we do now?"

"For now, we get Max out of here." Rachel stood up, prompting Chloe to do the same while cradling her beloved in her arms. "Take her to a safer haven in her mind. I'll fill you in there."

With that, Rachel dispersed into a glowing gold mist once more that trailed outwards away from the lighthouse, prompting Chloe to follow as well.

Just as she was about to step up off the railing, she paused and looked back to her father, whom was idling back, not looking like he was going anywhere.

"Dad? Aren't you coming?"

William bit his lip and looked down, giving his answer already. Chloe almost wanted to turn back. "I've done my part, Chloe."

"No, Dad!"

"It's been wonderful seeing you again!" He declared.

Chloe shook her head, wanting to rush back over to him, but kept her feet rooted where they were.

"Give Joyce my love, will you?"

Chloe had to swallow another lump before nodding. "I promise."

"Good." William smiled and then waved her off. "Now be off!"

Chloe took off into the sky with Max, daring not to look back, as she followed the golden trail to the next unknown parts of their journey.

"I'm here, Super Max." Chloe hushed to her friend. "I'm not letting you out of my sight anymore."

* * *

 **Author's Note: I apologize that this chapter took so long. I was very busy with work and other things. When I wrote William into this story, I only had a rough idea of his character and decided to play on that. I also realized how there was very little Pricefield in this story. Next chapter or the one after, you can expect an overflow of Pricefield again. Thanks for reading and see you next time!  
**


	16. Chapter 16

**TRIGGER WARNING: Lots of blood and disturbing imagery.**

* * *

 **Chapter 16**

A pair of arms folded under her back and legs, air coasting through her hair, a pair of butterfly wings that were half the size of a sail, and a veil of striking blue hair framing a perfect face also brandishing to the breath of the passing sky; all these ingredients, Max could photograph only through the lens of her half-lidded eyes.

"Chloe…" She could only moan through her chapped lips, but it was enough for Chloe to heed her.

"Yes, keep saying my name!" Cooed the butterfly girl. "Say it as many times as you want! I'll never get tired of it!"

Her response was rather loud for Max in the state she was in, but she didn't mind, because whether this Chloe was real or just another fragment of her tortured mind, she would enjoy her for as much little time as whatever she had left.

Max leaned her head into Chloe's shoulder and breathed in her scent and shut her eyes to rest some more; it was hers, without the stench of smoke and alcohol, and she wanted it forever.

Her best friend and lover reacted to this by holding her even closer and did just the same to her, collecting the scent of her purity and innocence.

"I wanna make love to you, _hella_ bad." She blurted quietly, prompting a small snicker from the smaller girl.

"You're… such a dork."

* * *

Back in the hospital, everyone who gathered outside the entrance to Max's hospital room to gawk at the miraculous wonder of the two girls still wrapped around each other while bending the fabric of time within their area have scampered, whether to rush home in fear, pace through the building in madness, or call some expert.

The only people who stayed were the two sickly worried parents, reluctant to stand by, but more so to leave them like that, to something they can't grasp.

Despite the overwhelming brightness, Vanessa and Ryan especially could not take their eyes of their daughter's resting face; though she seemed outwardly peaceful, they were more concerned with what could be occurring _internally_.

By this point, David noticed how the window in that room no longer projected the warm yellow glow from outside; instead, it was washed over in grey again.

 _Could that be another storm?_

That became the least of their worries when Vanessa, with her sharp eyes, squinted further to notice blood trailing out of her child's nose again.

Joyce and David froze up once they saw this too, recognizing it as an omen.

* * *

"Max? Max, come on. Stay with me, okay?"

Chloe and Rachel now had Max spread-eagled on a glass surface, the former patting her face gently to keep her conscious.

"We're gonna help you." She made sure to soften her voice with her.

In truth, however, her momentary relief from finding her was getting washed off by a leakage of trepidation. She could neither stomach the sight of her withered tainted body, nor could she take her gaze off; her ribcage was easily traceable, her bellybutton resting on her spine, cuts, scratches, and bruises all over her cold skin.

 _What happened to you? What did you have to go through?_

"I want it… to end."

Max ignored Chloe's reaction to the words she just grunted out as she peered above her to see a peculiar sight that neither the others truly noticed before; a circular plane far beyond and coated in snow, sparsely adorned with miniscule houses, most notably the tower she was just taken from.

She also took note of the spherical glass border bridging that ground to where they, to which she then realized that they were all inside a giant snow globe, resting on the inside of the top.

Chloe finally looked away from Max to Rachel as she rematerialized in her human form.

"What now?" She asked in her straightforward tone.

Rachel turned to both of them with somberness written on her face, darker than what she usually pulled off before, and withheld a response.

Chloe sensed her hesitation. "Rachel? Do you know what we're doing?"

Still, she didn't get an answer.

"Rachel!" She yelled.

"Kill me…" Max choked out. "You… _promised_."

Chloe threw her head back down, disbelieving the words she just heard out of her friend's mouth. Fresh tears were staining her pained face.

With creeping suspicion, Chloe raised her eyes back up to Rachel, glowering at her with razors. " _What_ is she talking about?"

Rachel swallowed a lump, afraid to release it with the answer.

Max raised her limp wrist to shift the attention back to her. "I… asked Rachel… to end my life… if I became too… dangerous… to everyone."

"W—What?" Chloe's heart clenched like a ball of paper.

"I… I'm suffering, Chloe. I just want it to _end_." Max's voice was quiet, yet was louder than anything else in this space they occupied. "I'm tired of waiting for the end. I'm tired… of this guilt. All those lives I destroyed." She shuddered upon a deep intake of air. "I deserve to pay… with my _life_."

"No!" Chloe began to sob. "Don't say that! Don't say that shit to me! You saved many others! What about Kate? What about _me_?"

"You have so much to offer…" Max reached up to try and wipe her tears away, but Chloe brushed it away it, allowing them to fall.

"Don't try and make this about my life! I've done that myself too many time already! What about _your_ life!? You just wanna throw it away!?" Chloe was close to hyperventilating, fear, anger, and grief strangling her like a viper.

"All I have ever done is make things worse, Chloe."

"You stop this crap!" By this point, Chloe felt like beating the shit out of her best friend. She turned to Rachel, who just stood by watching them. "Say something!"

Rachel only turned away shamefully. "I've already tried."

"Chloe." Max continued. "Seeing you here… is the best farewell gift I could have asked for, but I can't go on! All those memories we shared… they will always be ours."

"SHUT THE FUCK UP YOU SELFISH BITCH!" Chloe gave up any composure she had left and let loose.

When her peripheral sensed Rachel taking a step closer towards them, Chloe subconsciously sprawled her wings protectively, her eyes flashing like a bolt of lightning as she stared her down to keep back.

Backing off, Rachel looked up to see fades of snow sinking their way, a change in weight perhaps.

Chloe ignored this change to continue her tirade. "I came all this way through your acid-trip Bahamas just for you to tell it was for nothing!? FUCK YOU!"

Max tried to speak again, only to have Chloe press her fingers hard into her lips before they could part fully.

"No! You don't speak! You LISTEN!" Chloe removed her finger, and Max decided to shut up. "Ever since you came back into my life, you not only saved my life, but you saved my family, you saved Kate, and you saved _Rachel_."

Rachel nodded to what Chloe said, though Max raised an eyebrow, not quite understanding the last point.

"You helped solve the mystery of my friend's disappearance and freed her! You saved my family from being torn apart!" Chloe took a deep breath and leaned closer to Max, their noses almost touching. "But most importantly, you helped make me into more than I ever was. You inspired me to be better. You held me together when I was about to fall apart. You made me realize my dream, which is to do art." She stroked her cheek. "Plus… you taught me how to _love_ again."

Rachel felt like joining in to add how she gave hope to many others surrounding her life, but decided to hold her tongue, not wanting to intrude in this moment they were sharing.

"You… and many things… are my _ikigai_." With that closing sentence, Chloe released the weight of her head, allowing her lips to fall comfortably against Max's. Despite her weak state, Max widened her mouth to deepen their kiss.

Rachel looked on, grinning for them for a moment before it soured into sadness again.

"You complete me, Max." Chloe breathed to her when they separated again, resting her forehead on hers.

Max managed to curl up a corner of her mouth into a small lopsided smile as tears began sparkling in her eyes.

"Rachel's my angel. You're the love of my life. You make me whole."

Those last three statements did it for the youngest girl as she broke out into sobs that echoed through the entire glass chamber.

Chloe could only scoop her up and hold her face against her illuminating chest.

"Y—You're… so _corny_!" She half-chuckled.

"I know, nerd." Joining in the giggles, Chloe rubs their noses together playfully.

In the meantime, Rachel kept her wariness on their surroundings to find the snow building up in a whirling swarm, along with a new chill of rushing air.

"Uh… guys?" Rachel tried waving to get the others' attention.

Just then, a piercing squeak jolted the trio to look up and away around them to find huge cracks scribbling a spider web all around their transparent confines; their glass ball was about to shatter, which also meant…

* * *

Outside the hospital, lightning rampaged all over the exterior, sprouting like wildfire from the ceiling of deathly clouds that were as dark as crows.

The press at the entrance finally cleared away back into their individual news vans and other transports just to take shelter from the imminent storm.

Inside the halls, Joyce and Vanessa clung to their respective husbands while getting bumped by the staff zooming by to try and deal with this chaos.

The lights as well began to flicker, the monitors and screens snowing and short-circuiting; the entire facility was under threat of a blackout, which could endanger everybody inside, especially the patients.

As for the parents, the peak of their fears had nothing to do with those environmental hazards; they could only watch in horror behind the time barrier as Max's bleeding leaked down her bed to form puddle, now the size of a round canvas; it was getting everywhere, like it was going to flood the whole place.

"Oh my God! Maxine!" Vanessa wanted to claw her own face off from the distress.

Ryan released her only to make an attempt to charge his weight through this aggravating barricade that kept everyone from reaching his daughter. He tried knocking it down with his shoulder as though it was another door.

"Ryan, no!" Vanessa shrieked, her apprehension shifting over to him.

David, always quick to act, seized the other man and pried him away before anything more serious could be dealt.

"Let me go!" Shouted Max's father. "I can't just stand out here any longer and watch my daughter suffer like this!"

* * *

Rachel dashed over to a panicking Chloe to not only see that Max was not only crying blood out of her nose, but they were leaking from her eyes, her ears, and even her lower region.

"H—HELP ME! IT HURTS! I CAN'T TAKE IT!" She screeched, as if being forced into a boiling pot.

Worse than that, her skin began wrinkle and sink further into her skeleton, and her hair began to rumple and grey from her hairline until she resembled the old homeless lady who always sat at the back of the Two Whales; disheveled and stripped of all youth, reduced to a shivering old lady.

Chloe's voice left her. Her mouth was split open to its widest, yet nothing could come out except shallow gags of air; her worst fear was that her childhood friend, her best friend, and her lover, would rot away in her arms, leaving only her bones.

"Ma—Ma… M—Max…" She choked out.

Lost in desperation, she whipped her head back to Rachel, eyes round as billiard balls, hoping she had an answer; from her blank narrowness that shaded her eyes, even the entity didn't look she knew what they were doing anymore either.

Without warning, the whole glass interior jerked and quakes, sending all three spiraling off into the middle of the globe with no control whatsoever. The glitters of snow were all kicked around them, fluttering in all directions and obscuring their view from one another.

"MAX!"

"RACHEL!"

"CHLOE!"

As they screamed each other's names, Max's voice sounding distinctly strangled, Chloe made haste to regain control over the confusion by altering her wings until she found some semblance of balance once the motion settled.

When the snow settled, Chloe found Rachel floating motionlessly next to a fetal Max as if gravity left them entirely; more blood that leaked out of Max drifted up and about like red beads.

"MAX!"

Working out that Rachel had been rendered unconscious, Chloe thrust herself to cradle Max once more, and then moved to try and shake the other girl awake.

"Rachel? Come on, wake up!" She tightened her hold and shook harder. "I _need_ you!"

Despite her aggressiveness, Rachel wouldn't stir, leaving Chloe on her own and out of options.

Right then, the shape of a colossal head cast itself over the sphere, bathing everything within in its shadow.

" _Hello_ , girls."

To that smooth but profane voice, Chloe froze up and forced herself to look up. There, through all the cracks distorting the outside view, she could make out a square pale face, a fang-pointed chin, slits for eyes, and a pair of glasses trying to mask the devil behind.

When the elderly Max looked up as well to meet the face of evil and torment, she threw her head all the way backs and screamed her soul out through her lungs.

Up there, Chloe realized, was the twisted alteration of Jefferson, holding them in the palm of his hand.

"Come on, Max." He said softly, but with that perverse _grin_. "You didn't _really_ think you were rid of me, did you?"

* * *

 **Author's Note: DUN DUN DUN! Jefferson's back! I had to finish off a long overdue film project for college, which is why this chapter took very long. I apologize for the inconvenience, but I can't guarantee that it won't happen again, because I will have to get on with the editing now. There's going to be some dark shit again in the next few chapters, so brace yourselves! TO BE CONTINUED!**


	17. Chapter 17

**TRIGGER WARNING: Some scene depict psychological violation and may cause discomfort to some readers. Please be advised.  
**

* * *

 **Chapter 17**

Max Caulfield, once a bright young innocent soul, was reduced to a ragged old shell as she cowered under the piercing gaze of the devil himself, more fragile than ceramic.

"N—No! Not you!" She squealed, bringing her nails close to her lips as they twitched.

"Oh yes, Maxine!" Jefferson widened his grin, the corners resembling a sharpened scythe. "We'd have so much more to cover. _Would have_ , to be precise."

Chloe, lingering next to Max, thrust herself in between them and opened her luckily undamaged wings to shield her friend from this monster.

Jefferson continued regardless. "It breaks my heart to look at you right now. All that innocence, that naiveté, all burned up. Such a waste."

Those words, mixed with that voice, made Chloe's blood boil as they oozed into her ears like an infectious worm. "Yeah? Well fuck you! You're not having her!" She blared out.

The man, unfazed, nudged his attention to the blue-haired fairy and ticked his tongue as he examined her. "I must say, _Miss Price_ , that you look much better this way as opposed to your 'Punk-Ho' appearance the day before."

" _You_ don't get to decide, you pedophile!"

"Oh! _I'm_ a pedophile?" He stiffens to that comment, half-offended.

"Max told me _everything_! How you drugged those girls! Took away their power as you pleasured yourself with their suffering. Both Kate and Rachel."

"Speak of the devil."

How right he was, she admitted silently, as she spun to see the other girl she was reminded of floating in her own space, motionless.

"Rachel!" She called to her, but she didn't move; she was still unconscious.

"It looks like she can't help you anymore, I'm afraid." The art teacher taunted. "But looking at her like this… she can sure help _me_." To him, this image of Arcadia's Queen, stilled and vulnerable with no gravity to hold her, sent thrills down his spine like sparks of electricity. "Such beauty…" He murmured.

Trying to ignore him, Chloe fluttered over to Rachel to try and shake her awake. "Come on, Rach! Wake up!" She thrashed her harder, growing more panicked by the second, but still she didn't respond. Chloe knew deep down from the gold aura that canvassed her body, now dampened and extinguished, that she wasn't coming to any time soon. "Fucking hell!"

Giving up eventually, Chloe let the body drift free as the realization sunk into her that she was on her own now; it was like uncovering her corpse in the junkyard again.

 _You can't be dead… please, no! Not again!_

A blinding white flash, washing over the entire set, jerked her out of that trance; it was like lightning, but instead of hearing a clap of thunder, the click of a shutter accompanied it.

Max shrilled and pressed her palms over her ears to block out the sounds of Jefferson's camera at work; to her, they were like shots of gunfire ringing in her head and leaving behind scatters of shrapnel.

Chloe rushed back over to get ahold of her. "Max? Max! Come on! Stay with me, okay?"

Jefferson shook his head at them in false pity as he suddenly let the globe slope from his fingers to free-fall downwards and smash on the ambiguous hard surface he was standing on.

As their world broke apart, Max tried in vain to reach out for her best friend as the resulting impact flung them away from each other.

"Chloe!" She cried out, but she was gone.

Immediately, Max was flung across the slippery floor, all the released fluid pushing over her like a rogue wave, sending her body tumbling away against its will. By the time it receded, Max was left out cold in the dark once more.

* * *

When Chloe came to, she lifted her face from the wet surface and coughed hard until her lungs were drench-free. She rose onto her knees and looked around to find no sign of Max or Rachel whatsoever; all that was around here were bergs of broken wet glass resembling the arctic under meltdown.

To make matters worse, she spotted some torn edges in the corner of her eye and looked over her back to find that her wings had been bent off proportion and ripped to shreds; she wouldn't be able to fly with them anymore.

Standing up with the careful support of her hands, she checked all over her body to discover that her own white essence, much like Rachel's, had diminished, leaving a soaked mess. In an instant, all that power she possessed was _stripped_ from her.

"Now what…?" She huffed despairingly.

On queue, a harsh red light from behind switched on with a booming thump, outlining her edges, freezing her solid.

As if a spider had jumped onto the back of her neck, Chloe turned around slowly, like a crank, and craned up to see that undertaker of a photographer looming over her, inspecting her like an insect; his grin had softened, making him seem calmer, but the rifts on his forehead told otherwise.

"I suppose I can settle for you, since you lost me my Holy Grail."

The courage that had previously encompassed the punk was now lost somewhere as she was darkened under his shadow, left completely vulnerable to him.

* * *

" _No… get the fuck away from me you animal! Max! Rachel! HELP ME!"_

With the screaming voice of Chloe scratching her insides, Max snapped awake with the speed of a bear trap, and tried to respond.

"CHLOE!"

With no memory of where she had lost herself now, Max thrashed in what felt like a soft seat, restrained by a belt, as she attempted in desperation to free herself until she felt a pair of hands seize her.

"Whoa, Max! What's wrong!?"

"NO! LET ME GO! DON'T HURT CHLOE!" Max was literally blinded in her panic, her eyes shut tight, until she soon enough recognized this new voice that just spoke to her softly.

Settling down and allowing her eyes to open freely, she found herself sitting next to _Warren_ inside his car.

"W—Warren…?"

"Yes, the one and only." He shrugged in that usual comical fashion that one would do on television. "Who else could I be?"

Remembering their _last_ encounter, she backed against her side door and looked outside the vehicle to find that they were parked at a movie drive-in under the late evening sky, and there were no other cars around either; it was just them.

Allowing her breaths to ease, she took her weight off her door and faced this boy who was believed to be dead.

 _Was I just dreaming?_

"No, Max." Warren answered for her, _strangely_.

She confirmed this when she raised her hands to get a good look and the wrinkled and spots on both sides, and then traced more on her face; she needed no mirror, despite how many surrounded her at the moment.

Returning her gaze to Warren, she looked into his eyes and broke down before him.

"I—I'm so sorry, Warren!" She croaked. "I'm sorry… for _everything_."

Warren leaned in to put a hand on her shoulder to rub it warmly.

"I should h—have gone to the movies with you!"

"No, Max." He began to reassure her. "Don't blame yourself for that. That wasn't your fault. I should have known that you didn't have the hots for me and left it alone."

"You're right." She sniffled and straightened herself. "I should be blaming myself for the fucking storm that killed you all!"

"No, don't say that!"

"It's true! That's why all this is happening, isn't it? Isn't that why I'm constantly being tormented?"

"I don't think it's that, Max."

" _Really_? Then tell me what it is!"

"I have a theory." Warren held her hands protectively and thumbed her coarse palms to relax her some more. "This is all in your head, right? I think it's your guilt that's partly causing all this."

"So what can I do?"

"Let it all go, like Rachel said. Granted, I'm no expert, but I believe that holds the key to getting rid of your powers."

Max shook her head and looked down for a bit. "How can I? You're dead because of me."

"You can't let the past weigh you down anymore."

"But I don't it will ever leave me either." She looked back to Warren. "It's gonna follow me to my grave."

"You can't save everyone, Max. You had no control over it anyway." Warren cupped her jaw to get her to face him again. "But think of the people who are _still_ alive. Think of Kate, Victoria, my friend, Brooke."

Max snickered at the thought of Brooke. "I think she had a thing for you."

Warren smiled in acknowledgement, but quickly turned sad when realizing that they'll never get the chance to explore that. "I should have given her a chance. I was so fucking blind." He shook off that regret as to avoid planting more guilt into the girl in front of him. "But like I said, those people, families and all, are still alive! Even if you love someone else, you'll always be one of my favourite people on Earth."

"Oh, _Dog_." Max rolled her glazed eyes and wiped her snotty nose. "I was expecting a movie reference about now."

"This is me being _real_ , Max." Courageously, Warren brought one of her hands to his mouth to kiss it. "You're the bravest person I ever met. I'm real glad to have met you."

Hearing those encouraging words, Max felt something return to her, something she hadn't felt in a long time; it was hope. A new sensation rippled through her being as the outside washed over in a white hue, heaven descending to them. She felt her skin retract and smoothen, the colours of youth returning to her.

"Now go back out there and kick some more ass!" Warren pumped his fist up as the brightness leaked into the car and swallowed them both.

* * *

With a bellowing gasp, Max heaved enough air into her lungs to make a Titanic float again as she _levitated_ onto her feet.

There, she stood tall and confidently, chest out, legs straight and evenly apart, as she tightened her fists to savor this newfound vigor. In response, the strewn pieces of glass around her flew up and spiraled around her, but not chaotically as they would from a natural tornado; there was rhythm of serenity, a decisive pattern this time.

" _You found your ikigai!"_ Rachel's voice hailed for her from distance far enough to _just_ hear.

"I'm coming Chloe!" She declared. "I'm going to save you _and_ Rachel both!"

* * *

Chloe's hands were tied to her back as she was laid down on a miniature white backdrop on a round table while Jefferson circled her to get his shots of her; he had used a pair of cutters to clip off her damaged wings entirely as to avoid _compromising_ his shots.

"Not bad, not bad… could still use a little more… _something_."

This psychopath kept debating to himself with every angle he took; he was locked in deep concentration and frustration as he struggled to work with what he got.

His subject, despite being defenseless, refused to give him complete satisfaction of control; she locked her jaw tight in anger to make his life a little more difficult.

 _Is this what Kate and Rachel felt?_

She had endured what felt like hours in this studio, posing as his lab rat.

"Ah!" Jefferson suddenly clicked his fingers, startling her. "I know what's missing!"

Placing his camera aside, he groped the end of her two legs and, like a doll, arranged them so that her knees were spread wide apart to compliment the smooth valley of her groin, home to her most _precious_ area.

"W—What the fuck are you doing, asshole!?" Chloe gritted and attempted to struggle out of his big fingers.

"Only what Max's mind allows me to do." He replied, and then backed away to frame her with his fingers. "Perfect! Stay just like that!"

"WHY DON'T YOU JUST FORCE YOURSELF INTO ME WHILE YOU'RE AT IT!?" She screamed; no matter what was going to happen to her, Chloe wasn't going to succumb to fear.

Ignoring her rants with the shake of a head, Jefferson readied his camera. He adjusted the focus, lined up the frame, held his breath and hovered his finger over the capture button until it was just the right moment and—

CRACK!

"What the fuck?"

Jefferson flipped his camera one-eighty and found to his dismay that a long straight fissure just appeared, cutting through the center of his lens and screwing up his image.

Sensing trouble, Chloe snickered at him. "Having trouble?"

"Shut up, bitch!"

As his head spun over what went wrong, the device flashed in his face without warning, causing him to let it slip out of his hold. But instead of shattering on the floor by his feet, it stopped mid-fall and lingered there as it began to quiver.

"W—What is this!?"

Right then, the red light he was using exploded behind him and flew spark onto his back. As he hunched over, the camera flew over him, and he whipped around, only to harden at the sight that was waiting for him.

Chloe flung her head up, and when she saw who was standing at the end of the room, her mouth widened in joy, eyes sparkling.

There was Max Caulfield in her prime, enveloped in the same golden essence that was worn around Rachel, her sheen spreading through the whole interior.

With his camera in her hand, Max eyed her former role model as she raised the expensive equipment in front of him and crushed between her fingers like butter, and let him watch with renewed fury as its remains clatter between them.

"YOU CUNT!" He growled.

Unfazed by that derogatory term, she unassumingly replied, "It's over, Jefferson."

* * *

 **Author's Note: Taking a couple of weeks off really help me to re-evaluate my writing style. I should have known that less is always more. I was worried that people would think badly of my view of Warren due to the way I portrayed him in his last chapter. I've given many individual moments to other minor characters in the story, so this chapter marks his spotlight. As Max comes to her senses, her mental world begins to stabilize as she regains control. I would really like to see more reviews and hear your opinions. I appreciate the support you given me and this story! Thank you! We are almost at the end!  
**


	18. Chapter 18

**TRIGGER WARNING: This chapter is rated M for containing gore and violence.**

* * *

 **Chapter 18**

Back outside of the hospital room, just some time after David and the two women managed to calm Ryan down, some nurses came along to try and oust them away from the potential danger, the source being Max and Chloe; none of the parents would have it, of course.

"Please, you all need to evacuate!"

"Those are our daughters in there!" Ryan pointed hard into the room. "We are not leaving them!"

"I know this is stressful for you, but there's nothing more you can do." The nurse tries patting the big man's shoulders in an attempt to calm him down, only to have them ripped away by his bigger hands.

Vanessa then came around between them to try and talk some sense into her husband. "Ryan, maybe she has a point."

"I am not moving from this spot until my daughter is okay!"

"We can't get through to them, honey! Some of us already tried!" She held him firmly.

"So you wanna just leave our baby girl in there to bleed!?"

"No! God, no!" Vanessa shrieked, finally silencing the man. "But standing here and panicking isn't going to do any better!"

Joyce, having kept back to let the two resolve this on their own, finally found her opening and stepped in.

"Ryan." The Caulfields turned to her, her soft tone prodding them to hear her. "I understand how you're feeling, believe me. My baby girl is also in there right now, and I want nothing more than to get them out of there." Joyce turned into the room to gaze back at the two friends still on the bed. "But this power that she has… or now _they both_ have… it's extraordinary. They're as miraculous as they are dangerous." A pang of sadness loomed over the woman as she returned to those fond memories of William, whose death she now knows that Max is responsible for.

 _No! I can't think that! It's not her fault that he was in that accident!_

Joyce shut her eyes as she took in a deep breath to expel those thoughts. It wasn't that she blamed Max, but it was the added supernatural circumstance that worsened their loss; it was no simple accident anymore, but now the cruel lawfulness of fate.

She wondered to herself if Chloe should really have told her that extra detail instead of keeping it to herself; her daughter was never a good decision maker to begin with, but still… she would have to just accept it and move on.

Returning to their topic, Joyce finished off what she had to say. "It's far beyond our understanding. We just need to have faith that this will have to work out."

* * *

Max stared down her former idol and inspiration like a sworn enemy as she then raised her hands to the ceiling, intent on delivering on her statement.

Jefferson's eyes rested on the strewn remains of his precious camera, his torture instrument, when they started to rumble. Panning back up to Max, the very girl responsible for his downfall, he then took his head around to find the whole place quaking as well.

The man struggled to maintain his footing on the unstable floor, whereas Max's body absorbed the motion naturally, her control becoming apparent.

"What are you doing!?" Jefferson shouted to her.

Max kept her glare locked on him. This dark room, this _dungeon,_ Jefferson used to torment and violate many girls including Kate, Rachel, herself, and now Chloe. Seeing her girlfriend tied up on his table, hands and feet leashed in that same horrible position like some pet, there was no way she would let the same happen to her as well.

"I'm bringing this place down!" Max answered, her voice and Rachel's combined, booming across the four walls. "ALONG WITH YOU!"

With that skyrocketing volume, cracks began opening and segregating the floor, the walls, and the ceiling, everything ready to come undone.

Chloe, still tied up and unable to move, began thrashing in her spot to try and free her legs and hands; even in Max's mind, they were well fastened. Instead, she resorted to calling her friend. "MAX! You're not gonna bring me down as well, are ya!?"

Hearing Chloe's cry, Max snapped back to her senses; she was so ready for her retribution that she nearly forgot to consider her best friend's safety.

Remembering that they were all inside her head, Max put her imagination to work. Concentrating deeply, Max aimed one of her hands at Chloe and proceeded to project her wonder onto the bluenette.

What happened next bewildered both girls and horrified Jefferson.

In a second, Chloe felt the binds around her wrists and ankles tighten and tear while the table, as the room began to shrink; it was then that she realized that, vice versa, she was growing back to her original size.

"No… No, NO!" Jefferson shrieked, clutching his scalp. This haven where he once had complete control was about to crumble over him.

Once Chloe had reverted to her original size, she was able to snap her bonds off and hop off the table, directly behind the unsuspecting Jefferson. Finally, the torn edges of her wings regrew and repaired themselves. Now they were big enough to perhaps ensnare Jefferson like a Venus flytrap if she so wanted.

Jefferson soon enough caught on with the other girl behind him and quickly backed into the center, equidistant from them both. With both young teens restored to power, they finally had their tormentor right where they wanted.

All they needed to complete this was _one more person_.

And so, Max expelled an ounce of her bright essence until it grew as big as her. It then detached from her to swirl into a lone space, and then began to shape itself into a human form. When the transformation was complete, the essence peeled back from the top to expose Rachel's head, her hair and feather accessory fluttering free.

Finally, the trio of Max Caulfield, Chloe Price, and Rachel Amber, stood together, their triangle form boxing in Jefferson.

The man now faced the newly materialized girl. "R—Rachel…"

Rachel narrowed her eyes back at him. "Hi, Mark." She said in a gravely monotone.

Chloe could only smirk at this man's situation. "What do you think we should do to him?"

"Leave him to me." Chloe and Max whipped their heads at Rachel's answer. "He's mine."

Right then, Rachel's golden essence brightened ever a bit more as it strangely dissolved into a blood red hue; her lust for vengeance visualized.

Chloe herself was taken aback by this change and backed up a bit from the girl. Max, however, kept rooted, wanting to reason with her.

"Rachel, I know what he did to you." She then began to edge closer an inch at a time. "I would want nothing more than to do the same to him, believe me."

"Make that _three_ of us!" Chloe added, regaining her stance.

"So what!?" Jefferson interrupted. "Do you _really_ think because all of you are here together that you can do anything to me? The _Big Trio_ , everybody!"

Max turned her attention back to Jefferson to give a strange smile. "That's the thing." She strode up to him. "None of us are actually in your dark room."

Suddenly, Jefferson's arms constricted to his body as he felt an invisible band close around him tightly, clearly Max's doing.

Max stopped once she was nose-to-nose with her teacher. "You're in _mine_." She stated calmly.

Right then, she grasped one of the man's wrists, and with a nearly effortless tug, ripped that arm from his socket completely. The shocking part wasn't how she had done it so easily, or so casually, but how, despite Jefferson's bloodcurdling shrieks filling the air, no blood at all was spilled. Instead, all that was left behind on his shoulder was a flat stump, much like a mannequin's.

Still, it didn't stop Rachel and Chloe from cupping their own mouths in utter shock.

"You have no more power!" Max continued. "Not here! Not in my head! Not anywhere!" Max went for his other arm and detached this just as easily, this time just above the elbow; it left a more painful mark, however, in the form of jagged remnants, like a snapped branch.

"Jesus, Max!" Chloe whimpered, the scene unfolding before becoming harder to watch.

Next, Max raised a heel and slammed it hard against one of his knees, which hurled out a frail scream from the demon. When he cluttered to the ground, next to the strewn pieces of his camera, his leg was bent ninety degrees _backwards_.

"YOU BITCH!" He cursed. "I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!"

Cutting him off, Max stamped and crushed the shin on his other leg, leaving it a flat and tattered mess.

Max then backed up to take a moment and look over the broken mess of a man that she molded. Her next plan was to crush his genitals, but now that took in the full depth of her carnage, her anger disappeared, replaced with fear and regret.

She looked down at her body and clutched her chest when she found that it had turned red like Rachel's; the latter, on the other hand, had long since reverted back to her original tone upon watching Max's wrath unfold.

Chloe had her back turned completely, her face buried in her hands while the bone-crushing sounds happening right behind composed the rest of the scene for her. When they settled, Chloe cautiously craned back around and gasped at the broken body of Jefferson, and a panting Max standing over him.

She had just witnessed how violent Max can get when pushed to her breaking point, and it far more terrifying than anything she experienced in her life, even under the art teacher's mercy.

Max's body faded back to gold when she realized what terror she had committed and slumped to her knees. She held her mouth, as if to throw up, and broke down into sobs.

With her real friend back, Chloe sighed a bit in relief and flew down to embrace her. Rachel joined in as well. Both girls held Max from both sides, as if to literally keep her from falling apart.

"It's okay, Max." Chloe whispered into her ear. "It's over now."

They rocked her for a while until her wails died down into quiet shudders.

"You're safe now." Rachel said. "Let's take you out of here, come on."

They had forgotten completely about the interior crumbling around them.

"We gotta get out of dodge!" Chloe stated.

With that, the three girls broke apart and lifted Max to her feet and slung both her arms over their shoulders.

The ceiling shortly broke apart and opened a clear hole to the starry sky above. Seeing their escape, Chloe unraveled her wings, ready to fly out through there.

* * *

The four parents were just about ready to leave when the spectral barrier blocking the doorway dissolved before them.

"What in God's name…?" Joyce uttered as she spun back.

As soon as the other three parents caught on with what happened, they all hurried into the room and encompassed their bed.

They leaned in as close as they could towards the girls, but learned better than to dare touch them in this state, Ryan included; no one cared how close they were to their bright glow.

The two mothers especially eyed their daughters' faces closely to find a peculiar sight; both were ever so gently smiling, and Max's nosebleed had settled.

For a second, Vanessa hesitated on whether she should say anything, but eventually decided to open her mouth to whisper softly. "Max? Are you there, darling?"

* * *

"Mom?"

Max could swear that she heard her own mother's voice calling to her as they flew through the open air, whooshing winds filling the peaceful quietness.

Chloe was the one piloting the three as she carried both girls in the center, hands joined in harmony. The funny thing was that up here, they were all weightless; its like they were all moving through a surface thicker than air, yet thinner than water.

They wanted savor this moment, to make it last forever, because deep down, they knew it wouldn't last.

Chloe looked over to Rachel to see her eyes cast down instead of ahead. "What's gonna happen to you now?" She had to ask her.

Rachel released a single tear as she turned up to her friends, trying her best to smile positively.

"It's okay, Chloe." She sniffled.

With those words alone, Chloe realized what she meant and began to wet her own face too. "I don't want you… to leave… _again_."

"I'm so sorry. I wish I could stay with you guys forever."

Max listened to the two, deciding not to get a word in while she too absorbed what Rachel was saying.

Rachel continued. "It's been so great, seeing you again." She extended her head to look over at the other girl. "You as well, Maxine."

Max snickered. " _Max_. Never _Maxine_!"

The three shared perhaps their last laugh together.

"I don't ever want to forget our adventure here, good or bad. I reckon you would, _Max_." Max rolled her eyes. "But this has a hell of a ride!"

" _Hella_ ride!" Chloe added her favorite word in.

"I think that's what we should call this!" Max said suddenly. "The Hella Ride!"

They share another laugh.

Rachel shook her head. "You guys are such dorks!"

"Who would we be otherwise, am I right?" Chloe responded.

Once their laughter settled, everything got quiet again.

"There's one more thing you need to face, once you're out." Rachel started again.

Max sighed. "Oh my dog, are you serious?"

"Hear me out. There's one more thing you have to do afterwards, but it could prove fatal to you."

Hearing this caused Chloe to swallow a lump.

* * *

At the hospital bed, Joyce, David, Vanessa, and Ryan, jittered in anticipation when they noticed the girls' eyes fluttering ever so slightly, their first sign of movement in _forever_.

"Oh my God, Maxine! Is that you?" Vanessa closed her hands together in prayer as Ryan took her shoulder. "Please, come back to me! Come back to me!" She chanted.

Finally, the venerable glows in their bodies finally faded out; the hospital lights seemed insignificant after that overwhelming brightness. The four parents waited for a bit until their girls suddenly broke apart with a unified gasp, and then their eyes jolted open; for Max, it was for the first time in _days_.

Once the girls realized that they were back in the hospital room, Chloe stared into Max's eyes while the latter saw her gown and felt the bandage around her baldhead.

"Max?" Max froze and looked back at her best friend. "Is that you?"

Max paused before smiling at her. "Of course! But what happened to my beautiful hair?"

Chloe threw out a deep exhale and threw herself onto Max and sealed their lips together.

When they broke apart, they allowed their parents to claim them in their embrace, bombing them with endless hugs and kisses.

"Thank God!"

"You're both okay!"

 _Okay…_

The two girls kept their eyes locked on each other as the brief joy of their reunion faded from their smiles as they both remembered what Rachel said to them.

Their last roadblock was underway, and it determined the rest of Max's life.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Hey guys, I am so sorry I've been away for so long! I bet you were all waiting impatiently for my next chapter. I had a serious case of writer's block as well as work and life getting in the way. I couldn't decide how I wanted to deal with Jefferson. I wanted to deal with him in a way that was satisfying but not rushed. The story will conclude in the next two chapters! What is final obstacle that Max has to face, and how will it affect her and Chloe? Find out in the concluding chapters! Thank you!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Several hours since Max woke from her coma, the hospital building seemed to be pulling itself together in no time. Nurses were speed walking past the various rooms and offices as opposed to sprinting while the veteran doctors regained some sensibility that was lost previously.

Outside however, the brooding clouds had yet to clear, the weather still adamant on making a hassle for the Press, still skulking out front like vultures refusing to be scared off until they scavenged their meal, or at least got a _lick_ of it.

All these reporters were much too eager to get their scoop of perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime miracle; there was no way they would let this opportunity slip.

Chloe looked down upon those flocks with contempt, knowing how badly they were waiting to get their chance to jab their all microphones down her best friend's throat and give her more to be stressed about.

Too tired to make a commentary about their bullshit however, Chloe instead closes the blinds and drifts back to Max's bed where her parents were still pouring their hearts all over her and serenading her with their love and gratefulness.

"Are you sure you don't need anything else, dear?" Her mother asked, her hand over hers affectionately.

Max, sitting up on her pillow, nods indefinitely, her throat too sore to answer verbally.

"You had us worried to death." Her dad stated.

Max murmured while nodding, as if to try and say, " _I know._ "

"We're kinda scared to leave you alone again."

"Don't worry, Ryan." Chloe butted in. "I won't bite her…" _Yet_. Chloe and Max shared knowing looks and then smirked.

Finally, Max cleared her throat to make a request. "I… need t—to… pee."

Immediately, Chloe angled around the bed while Ryan and Vanessa helped her off the bed onto her feet; her balance was wonky like before, but able nonetheless.

After Max had her leashed IV handed to her so that she could walk around with it, she gently pushed her parents away, wanting to help herself, even though her head was still a little feverish.

 _Fuck, I'm still aching all over! It hurts!_

Max tried not to show the pain in front of her parents, but Chloe knew her better than anyone else, having witnessed firsthand the true horrors that her powers and psyche put her through. Instinctively, she took the girl's arm, insisting mutely to help her to the bathroom.

Chloe allowed Max to take as much time as she need to as she shuffled across the mopped floor; she was like a _granny_ making her baby steps.

When they made it to the doorway, Chloe prepared to leave her to her business when she was hooked back by one of her fingers. She turned back to find her glinting blue orbs pleading with her not to go.

Max was about to open her mouth, only to have a finger put over her lips; Chloe understood immediately and looked back to the other Caulfields behind them.

"Um, guys?" She started awkwardly. "Can Max and I have some one-on-one time, please?"

The parents looked to each other for a bit, slightly perplexed by her choice of words, but then nodded, much to her relief. "We'll just be outside." Her mother said, and so they left the room.

Chloe then brought Max inside the bathroom and locked the door behind them, sensing more to her reason for her company.

* * *

Chloe had unconsciously slowed her flight, after hearing Rachel's warning to Max, weighed down by the fear of what she was going to tell them next.

"How fatal?"

 _No, Max! Don't ask that question! I don't want to know! I just got you back!_

They could both feel Rachel's hesitation as she proceeded to explain. "There's something I eventually found out about our time powers while I was knocked out inside that globe… when you became an old lady." No one liked where this was going. "Actually… I think I've known for awhile without realizing it." She heaved in a breath deep enough to hold an ocean. "You know how you get nosebleeds from rewinding too much?"

" _Duh_." Answered the other two girls in unison.

"The same thing's happened to me as well."

"Is that where your excuses of getting into fights with other _ruffians_ and jealous _Queen Bs_ came from?" Chloe interposed bluntly.

Rachel didn't reply, guilty as charged.

"I always wondered how your face maintained its _oh-so-flawless_ oval complexion."

Rachel sighed, resigned; she hoped this wouldn't lead to another argument as she hastily returned to the topic. "Regardless, there's a reason it always happens."

"Go on." Max prompted.

"Each time I either bled or collapsed after fooling around with my powers, I felt a bit of me eat away, and I'd come back feeling lesser than I was… as if part of my life had been eaten away."

"What are you saying?" Chloe insisted, her voice quivering. "Just get to the point already."

"I think I know what she's talking about." Max spoke suddenly, reeling all the attention now. "I've felt that way too, the worst of it being in the diner."

In hear head, the pieces all came together. It clicked when she forced herself to go back moments ago when she was that dried-up old lady; it all made sense now.

With this conclusion, she decided be straightforward. "Everytime I use my powers to save other people or completely change destiny… I shorten my _own_ life… don't I?"

Slowly, Max turned to see the somber faces of her friends, Chloe's looking especially distraught like she had been blown to the gut by a pipe.

"It had to be what killed me." Rachel acknowledged. "I'm sure of it."

"Hell no! _Hella_ fucking no! That's not true!" Chloe shouted, picking up her wing speed to an aggressive pace. "I just got you back… _damn_ it!" She was fighting tears for perhaps the _thousandth_ time now, the dread of losing her friend raining down on her like icicles.

Deep down, she knew it to be true, despite how badly her worn emotions tried to dissuade her.

"How do I stop it, then?" Max then asked, keeping her cool for Chloe's sake.

"Max!" That surprised Rachel. "B—But I told you it was dangerous!"

"Yeah, but didn't you come all this way to help me get rid of this power?"

Rachel, at a loss for words, nodded while looking away from her.

"Then tell me!"

Nodding a second time, she did just that. "You may have to find somewhere quiet where you can be alone, and below a sky. Once you do, you'll have to focus your powers to a point where your body can no longer hold them back."

"Hold the fucking phone!" Chloe interrupted, _again_. "You just told us that using her powers risks killing her, and now you want her to actually try killing herself!?"

"Let me finish!" Rachel shouted back. "I did say it was going to be fatal."

Max squeezed Chloe's hand, prompting her to keep quiet and let her continue.

"Once your body reaches that limit… that point of no return… you'll have to oust it out with everything you got, no matter what!"

"But what if it latches to another person? Like what _you_ did to _me_?"

"It won't!" Rachel declared. "Because this time, they'll be disappearing with me! Every ounce of this _curse_ … I'll be taking it all back so it can die with me!"

Max and Chloe froze; the latter's wings flapping automatically as that last message sunk in.

"It's your choice, however." She then added. "Either risk burning the end of your life away and save everything, or you can just live our the rest of your life as a normal hipster. No matter what your choice is, it's fine. I'll be right here."

* * *

"What are you thinking, Max? Talk to me."

Chloe was squatted in front of Max, who was seated on the toilet, her head weighed on her hands, supported by her elbows.

With only them in this small space, there was nothing left to distract the remaining time-bender from the headache burdened by her current dilemma.

All that pain… that trauma… the nightmares… they were caving in on her like rocks. Despite being awake and alive, she was not truly free.

Finally, Max allowed herself to cry, to completely break loose all her bottled emotions that were kept in her vegetative state. Her screams echoed off the tiled walls. Chloe wrapped herself around her and rocked her again like she did with Rachel.

To see her _rock_ crumbling like this destroyed her. Now she needed to be _her_ rock, her guardian; she would protect her with her life, whether it was worth it or not.

But there was still the elephant in the room they had to deal with, and Max had yet to make her decision… her _ultimate_ choice.

"I… f—fucking hate myself!" Max choked out. "I don't wanna do this anymore! I DON'T WANNA!"

"Look at me." Chloe's eyes narrowed in grit as she forced Max to face her. "It's only _your_ choice. Rachel said it herself. You can forget that you ever got these powers and move on."

"Powers?" Max frowned darkly. "More like a _curse_." She wiped her face and calmed herself so she could discuss this properly. "I've been cursed from the day I first used these powers, since Rachel dumped them on me."

"You can't blame Rachel."

"Of course I don't! It's just…" Max trailed off, losing her words, and scoffed in frustration. "I'm such a fucking mess."

Another minute of silence filled the bathroom until Chloe decided to prod her again.

"What do you want to do, Max?"

Max closed her eyes and craned her head up to face the ceiling and held it there, resulting in a small click from the bones of her neck.

Chloe waited impatiently for her answer, hoping to God that what her gut figured it would be was wrong. Whatever decision she was about to make, Chloe wouldn't be able to stop her.

Finally, Max gave her final answer. "I need to go up to the roof outside."

 _No!_

"I made a selfish choice once."

 _Please, God. No!_

"This is the least I can do to make up for it." Max chose to condemn her lifespan for the _greater good_.

Devastated, Chloe shot up to fist the door, the banging sounds amplified in this tight area. She _knew_ it; her gut was right.

Max got up off the toilet to try and calm her, but was afraid to lay a finger and cause another trigger. She chose to say nothing until her friend shortly tired herself out and was left panting with her head pressed against the flat wood.

"Why…?" She whimpered. "Just… _why_?"

Gently, Max summoned enough courage to turn Chloe around. Once they were face to face, the shorter girl cupped her cheeks, stood on her toes, and brought their lips into a longing embrace.

"N—No." Chloe tried to fight it; she didn't want this to be her goodbye kiss. Max, however, refused to yield and strengthened her kiss. The taller girl goon gave in and hugged her, running her hands all over her back and sides.

 _Don't let this end! Stay here! Stay with me!_

They quickly broke apart. Max smiled at the punk, biting her lip. Chloe could only chuckle; she looked so adorable. Their smiles soon faded.

"Chloe… it's time."

Agreeing with dread, Chloe nods slowly before a knock in the door jolts them.

"Everything alright in there?" Vanessa's voice called to them from outside.

"Yeah!" Max answered, trying to sound cheerier than normal. "We were just making out!"

When no reply came, they were both able to let out one last laugh.

* * *

When Max was sat back on the side of her bed, Joyce returned with David to check on her as well, which caused the girl to tense up.

Earlier, Joyce hadn't spoken a word to her since she came out of her coma, even though she appeared as concerned for her wellbeing as everyone else. Chloe had to admit to telling her the truth about her time travel back to the day William died. Max wanted to kill Chloe, but she neither had the strength nor energy, so she resorted to forgiving her.

As the Chloe's mother drew closer to her, Max feared that she would hate her for killing her husband and best friend's father. What she didn't expect was for Joyce to squat in front of her and gift her with a warm hug.

"How are you feeling now?" She was asked lovingly.

Max paused a bit in surprise before answering. "Better."

When they pulled apart, Max looked into the woman's eyes, scraping for words to offer her the right apology.

"I—I'm so sorry, Joyce."

"For what?"

"For…" Max swallowed and leaned closer to whisper. "For William."

Joyce immediately shook her head and smiled. "Dear, it's okay. It wasn't your fault. You had no control over it."

"B—But I…"

Joyce hushed her with a finger. "You mustn't blame yourself. William's death was not your fault, and you did the right thing. I still love you very much, Max. You saved my baby girl. That's all that matters now."

Tears leaked down Max's face as she too smiled. "We saved _each other_ , actually."

Chloe laughed along as the two embraced once more.

"Thank you for coming back to us when we needed you most." Joyce suddenly said. "You mended us when we couldn't do it ourselves. Basically, you saved us too."

Max shied away and hid her face in mild embarrassment. "Oh, stop!"

"It's true." Chloe said. "You're an Everyday Hero!"

"So… you're not mad?"

"No." Joyce shook. " _Never_."

The woman concluded her statement by enveloping her hands in her own. Max took it all in as relief washed her all over.

This moment of closure would stay this way when everything all at once still around the girl. The slight whistle of the air, the ambience of work from outside, it all went dead as Joyce, David, and her parents all froze in front of her again.

Realizing that time had frozen again somehow, Max spun around, panicked, until she found Chloe, still animated, appearing just as perplexed.

"Max? Are you…?"

Max shook her head. "I'm not doing this!"

" _I did."_

Max and Chloe shot their heads up when they heard Rachel's voice resonating to them again.

"Rachel…" Max huffed; she didn't believe she would ever hear from her again. "What are you doing?"

"I'm freezing time so you can do what you're going to do without any interference."

Understanding completely, Max nodded while Chloe turned cold, knowing what was about to happen.

She lingered for a bit as Max got up by herself and started out the door to the hallway, but not before kissing her parents' on the cheeks. Chloe eventually forced herself to follow after her.

The walk through the frozen hallway was slow like a death march, Chloe tailing behind Max like a death row convict being escorted to her execution.

There was every chance to turn back and change her mind, but Max wouldn't let will falter; she was going to see this through to the end, with Chloe right beside her.

* * *

Once they were on a rooftop, Max went to the edge looking over the main parking lot to see the frozen landscape of the trees residing beyond, completely ignoring the press below that appeared like chess pieces.

"Rachel?" Max spoke to the air. "Do you think there's a chance… even if my life gets _shortened_ …?"

" _Yes."_ She was answered. _"You'll still have time… just not much left, depending on how this goes."_

"Will I have _years_ … or _months_?" Max's chest got heavy thinking about that; she felt like a cancer patient being told of her diagnosis and awaiting to hear her life sentence.

" _I… don't know."_ Rachel said, hesitantly.

Max sighed and hunched, dissatisfied with that answer. "Even if I make it through this, do you think my life will ever be normal again?" She finally shifts her attention to the new crew. "Everyone in the world pretty much knows what I can do."

"Fuck them." Chloe shouted, stepping up next to her. "Who cares what they think? So they know you have God-like powers! We'll take them on if they try getting to you! You and me, as one!"

" _All three of us."_ Rachel added.

" _Hella_ right!"

Max snickered before returning to the middle of the empty space of the top and took in a few deep breaths to prepare for what she was about to do, Chloe staying close to her as she went.

Before she could begin, there was one last thing she wanted to do. She spun around to embrace Chloe with all her might, and then joined their lips in a deep kiss; both knew very well that this could be their last moment together.

Once they pulled apart, Chloe allowed her hand to slip loose from Max's wrist, unable to let go on her own. She backed far enough away while keeping her gaze on Max, her throat hardening every second.

Max too didn't want to take her gaze away as her mouth began to quiver at the sheer fright.

Finally, she opened her mouth to say, "I love you. Don't ever forget about me."

"Never."

"Tell everyone I love them."

With a sniffle, Chloe gave her the nod. "I'll always be with you, Max."

Mirroring her head motion, Max stood her legs apart and flexed her fingers and shoulders, and then looked straight ahead where she was facing.

"I'm ready."

With that, Max clenched her fists as hard as she could until they were shaking, her fingernails digging deep into her palm while she hunched over and bent her knees.

She breathed hard and began to groan hard like she was lifting a barbell. Her face turned red and veiny.

Chloe subconsciously rooted her feet to her as to avoid any attempt to stop her; Rachel would probably just freeze her anyway if she tried.

Finally, Max's body began to vibrate as it rippled out this glowing yellow energy that grew brighter all around her as she progressed. Her gown flapped as air was pushed out from beneath, mainly her legs, and blew towards Chloe.

The stillness that Rachel had over time collapsed again, causing the storm to resume and thunder down at them.

Things were only going to escalate from here.

Rain started pelting them when a low distorted hum boomed as the whole rooftop began to quake.

Max continued straining herself further as she pushed her hands out beside her, like forcing them through thick gel while straightening her back again; all her muscles, particularly her calf ones, were threatening to pop already, having tensed them to their limit.

Tears broke from both girls' faces, despising everything they have suffered, Max being tortured physically while Chloe was tortured emotionally.

For Max, her head was being branded like an iron, her eardrums were threatening to explode, her throat was stuffed with razorblades, her heart was being battered like a punching bag, and the membrane of her lungs were thinning while the rest of her body, bones and muscles, became hard like stone ready to crack.

She wanted to _die_ from all this exertion already.

The clear sign of her limit came when blood flushed out from her nose, her eyes, her mouth, and even her vagina, everywhere that blood could leak out from; it was almost like she was getting ready to explode from within.

She let out a croaked scream to the heavens. This was it, her breaking point.

At that moment, streaks of lighting flashed in the clouds above, as if directly responding to her cries.

 _This is it!_

This was the moment. She could feel the life being drained from her, promised years burning away the span of her life like a cigarette.

" _Max…"_ She heard Rachel's broken voice whisper in her ears. _"You can let go now…"_

Through the pain, Max managed to close her eyes softly as she recalled the best and worst passages of her life.

Playing pirates with Chloe as kids.

 _Let go…_

Celebrating each other's birthdays.

 _Let go…_

Standing at Chloe's side at her dad's funeral.

 _Let go…_

Saying their goodbyes before she left for Seattle.

 _Let go…_

Growing up in the new city like a lost puppy.

 _Let go…_

Returning to Arcadia Bay, no different from the person she was before she left.

 _Let go…_

Walking through Blackwell University for the first time.

 _Let go._

Making friends with Warren.

 _Let go._

Meeting _Jefferson_ …

 _Cringe._

Making enemies with Victoria and Nathan.

 _Leave it._

Seeing Chloe for the first time again in years.

 _Cherish it._

Fooling around with her powers in the junkyard.

Saving Kate from jumping off the rooftop.

Comforting her in the hospital.

Arguing with Chloe in her truck.

Watching her die.

Saving her life many times over.

Swimming together in the pool.

Being trapped and saved from the dark room.

Their slow dance leading to their kiss in the ruined Two Whales was especially in the forefront of her memories.

 _Let go._

Opening her bloodshot eyes again, Max looked over to Chloe one last time and threw her the saddest yet cutest smile she ever donned.

"Thank you, Rachel." She muttered. "Thank you for letting me save Chloe."

With that, she thrust her hands high, as if lifting a big boulder, and allowed all the cosmic energy built up inside her to shoot up into the sky.

All the reporters down below swayed their focus up to the roof and directed all their cameras to this bright golden beam piercing the clouds, none of them able to see what was causing it from where they are however.

Chloe shielded her eyes from the blinding beam until it settled again. She took her time afterwards to lower her arm and waited for the mist around them to part. When it did, there she saw Max at the center, still locked in that hailing pose, breathing heavily.

Max's arms dropped back to her sides like a severed puppet's and began to lean on one heel, threatening to lose balance.

"M—Max…?" Chloe began to inch towards her friend.

Max looked back to Chloe with a weak bloody smile, one eye more open than the other, and then started to lose balance.

"MAX!"

Despite the surface being wet from the rain, Chloe sprinted across her distance to catch the girl in the safety of her arms, not caring if she herself got injured.

She slumped to her knees and laid Max on her laps and desperately tried to shake a response out of her without being too aggressive, but she was panicking now.

Max was still conscious, as indicated by her moans, but her eyes were glazed and looking miles ahead at nothing.

"Max, talk to me please!" Chloe tapped her face gently yet hastily. "Don't do this to me, baby! Please, God! No!"

Right then, a number of doctors and personnel came bursting through the doorway of the staircase, having figured out where they inexplicably vanished to from the beam.

Their parents shortly darted out through the rain and all froze at the horrid sight of Chloe cradling a bloodied Max before quickening their pace.

"No, God. Please." Vanessa broke at seeing her daughter. "That's my daughter!"

The hospital personnel, doing their jobs, had to restrain the frantic mother and father to let the doctors pass through to do their job.

Chloe broke down in sobs and screamed up at the sky. She wanted to curse God, first for taking her father, then Rachel, and now Max.

"C—Ch—Chloe…" Max stuttered, pulling a gasp from the other girl, hope rushing back.

 _Is she alive!?_

"It's… finally over… isn't it?"

"Y—Yes!" Chloe nodded furiously. "You did it, Max! It's finally over."

Facing up at her friend, Max bared her teeth and giggled, which quickly caused her to cough.

"I'm… so… glad…"

A doctor intruded the moment by attempting to pull Chloe away. "I'm sorry, but we have to save her while we still have time." He said.

Nodding understandably, Chloe lowered Max's head to the concrete as she got up to let the staff do their job. She loomed over the scene, praying for her life.

 _Please make it through this. I can't live without you!_

Before losing consciousness again, Max squinted up the the sky to see the grey clouds parting in silence, the fresh blue able to show itself once more, and allowed a deep sigh to escape.

 _"Goodbye. I wish we had more time."_

The storm had finally passed.

* * *

 **Author's Note: There it is, the defining chapter! I decided to make this chapter far longer than the others since this is the climax of the story. I really wanted to make this final conflict as fulfilling as possible. If you read through the story up until this point, you deserve a big thank you! Please let me know what you think in the reviews, or wait until I deliver the final chapter, which is the epilogue! Thank you all so much! I appreciate your support.  
**

 **It's my birthday btw, so why not deliver you all a gift? ;D**


	20. Chapter 20 - Epilogue

**Chapter 20 - Epilogue**

Three years since the incident, no one in Arcadia Bay ever heard from Max, Chloe, or Rachel, as the community got work with picking up the pieces of their quiet fishing town to bring it back to what it once was, with a few improvements scattered here and there.

Kate Marsh, Victoria Chase, and even _Frank Bowers_ , stayed to do their part; the former two became close friends as a result. When Blackwell was close to being rebuilt entirely, they, along with the help of many other students and staff alike, helped to set up a memorial in the courtyard honoring those who lost their lives in the storm.

Plaques with the names of _Warren Graham_ , _Juliet Watson_ , and _Alyssa Anderson_ , were listed among the many.

Victoria cradled her arm around Kate as the three stood back to admire their work while Frank rested his gaze on a particular plaque that was placed somewhere in the middle.

 _Rachel Amber._

Sniffling once, Frank allowed his face to settle on a smile as he remembered her. Wherever she was, he hoped she was happy, and he would honor her by turning his own life around to become better.

* * *

Chloe's parents, as in Joyce and _David_ , were the only few people who knew of the girls' whereabouts. They got on with their lives, first by rebuilding their home, and then working as a team of two to paint the entire outside in sky blue.

When they finished, both stood in the driveway to admire their newly refurbished house. Joyce flourished with happy tears, knowing how proud William would have been.

David pulled her close and put a hand on the woman's slightly lumped belly; a new member of the family was on the way.

"Do you think it'll be a boy or a girl?" He asked softly.

"I don't care."

"Because I'm thinking of name in case it's the _former_." Joyce looked to him, now curious. "But I want to be sure that you're okay with it first."

"Of course, David."

* * *

Somewhere across the other end of the world stood a peculiar blue-haired punk in an art museum. She wore the same kind of clothes as always, a pair of tight jeans, high leather boots, and a loose white tank top with a blue butterfly emblem in its front center.

What changed was that she no longer wore her dark beanie and allowed her hair to fall down to her back and shoulders like a waterfall, just like her butterfly form.

Chloe was then taken by surprise when she heard the familiar sound of a Polaroid snapshot and spun to see a brunette with her camera aimed at her.

"Max!" She gasped. "You're not allowed to use your camera in here!"

Max checked her surroundings before taking out the printed photo to wave it. "When did _you_ become so concerned about breaking the rules, mademoiselle?"

Chloe rolled her eyes as Max hurried over to show her the photo; it was a perfect candid face shot.

"You look so cute and innocent here, much like your younger self. Another great addition to our scrapbook."

Gone was shy and awkward hipster who always stood with her shoulders bunched. In her place now was a calm and confident woman who walked with her chest out, yet she still remained a dork.

Her hair had grown back to its original length while she now donned a beige jacket and wore a necklace of a doe. This was a girl who was ready to take on the world.

* * *

Another one of their travels took them to a desolate beach where they could have the shore and water all to themselves.

They wasted no time stripping to their bikinis and dipped themselves into the tame sea while the lined sun hovered over them in the late orange sky. They swam, splashed, played _Jaws_ again, and made out shortly.

In the little tent, however, was where things got _really_ steamy. They engaged in a little play fight before tiring themselves out. Breathing heavily, their bodies worked on their own as they forced themselves on each other. Their tongues wrestled for dominance while their remaining clothes were freed from their bodies. One thing led to another.

In that late evening, with the full moon taking the sun's place, they made love for the first time, and it took them back to the stars.

* * *

Unfortunately, it was around the third year that the past finally caught up to them. They didn't realize it straight away, but during their treks through nature, Chloe began to notice how Max was off balance whenever she walked, and it was getting progressively worse when it decayed to limping.

Eventually, Chloe sat her on a tree stump to let her catch her breath that sounded ragged.

"I'm… I'm fine, Che." Max breathed out. "Just very tired."

"Max, you were limping like one of your legs caught a bullet from a hunting rifle."

"I can make the rest of the way." Max insisted and tried to get up, only to be forced back down by Chloe.

"Bullshit." Chloe spat. "We're heading back, _now_."

Immediately, Chloe picked Max up off the stump and slung her arm over her neck to limp her all the way back.

"C—Chloe…"

"Don't argue with me!"

* * *

The duo decided to stay in a cabin that night where, unlike before, neither could sleep properly. With nothing to distract them from their thoughts anymore, their minds returned to Rachel, and fond yet sore subject to both.

For Max, she was reminded of her inevitable fate, knowing deep down from the signs that her time would be up soon.

Chloe stared at the girl, and being able to read her thoughts, pulled her head close to her chest. Right then, Max finally broke down, her fears catching up to her. Both said nothing as the reality sunk in.

"It's… just not fair." Max sobbed.

The bluenette tried keeping herself together, but in truth, she wanted to lose it with her as well. Regardless, she would stay strong for her, as her rock.

* * *

Upon flying back to Oregon, Max resorted to walking with a cane as they migrated through the airport.

Right away, she noticed the way people were looking at them as they passed by.

"Looks like I'm still famous." She commented.

Chloe just nodded, not minding them.

The incident with Rachel in the Two Whales and the hospital didn't stay within the confines of Arcadia Bay for long. It spread everywhere through news channels, documentaries, and the _good old_ social web.

This was what made for a good excuse to get the hell out of here when they did.

When they exited from the arrival, they met Max Caulfield's parents who greeted them with equal love.

"How was your trip?" Her mother asked while bombarding her with kisses.

"Amazeballs."

"Hella amazeballs!"

With the exception of the cane, both parents were delighted at how mature their daughter appeared to have grown since they went away.

* * *

During the road trip inside their car, Vanessa decided to ask Max the hard question when enough time had passed and they were eased into this setting.

"How do you feel, dear?"

Max held a breath, knowing what was behind her question. "I'm… I'm finding it a little harder to walk… let alone breathe."

Chloe looked to Max with concern but stayed silent, allowing the girl to take her time.

"But it's not so bad." Truth be told, Max didn't like how her mother picked now of all times to bring up that subject, just before they are off to see Joyce and David, and their son.

They knew as well.

The family talked about it many times, even overseas when her parents called her through video many times just to make sure she was still alive.

"So, how's little _William_ doing?" She said, changing the topic.

"Oh, he's great!" Chloe answered cheerily. "From what I hear, he already wants to be a _cop_ just like his dad."

* * *

Instead by being dropped at the Price household like they expected, the girls were greatly surprised to find that we were being driven behind the same Two Whales Diner into its parking lot.

"Hey, this isn't my house."

"Everyone's waiting." Ryan simply stated.

Inside, Joyce and David were seated at a table as customers this time while playing with their new son when the former spotted them entering. With an elated gasp, she got up and charged towards the girls with a hug.

"You're here! Thank God!"

"Yeah!" Chloe grunted. "You're killing us again!"

"Glad to see you too, Joyce!"

Joyce released them and then grabbed both their arms to drag them over to their table. "Come on! There's someone who wants to meet you!"

The girls were brought to see William, who was in David's arms, trying to pick at the off-duty cop's moustache.

Max threw her palms onto her cheeks. "Oh my dog! He's so cute!"

Chloe bent over to touch the baby's hands. "Hey there, little brother." She spoke in that high-pitched voice.

William giggled in response.

"Can I pinch his cheeks?" Max asked with puppy eyes.

David only chuckled before saying, "No."

All sharing a laugh, the whole extended family sat down to share their stories to one another. From Joyce and David came the hardships of raising their child with his temper tantrums and other sorts of baggage he came with. Chloe did most of the talking when she shared their adventures while of course leaving out the fouler details.

By this point, Max tuned out as she turned to look out the window. On that empty road, she imagined Rachel standing there while watching them favorably.

* * *

"I'm starting to see her everywhere now." Max moaned. "Rachel."

Chloe could only hum to her statement as she piggybacked the girl up the hill through the trees where up ahead stood the same old lighthouse.

"We should have gotten married too, you know." She finally said.

It had been more than enough months now. By then, Max was unable to walk anymore, having to resort to either being carried or lugged around in a wheelchair.

When they reached the top, Chloe lowered Max onto the bench and sat with her to face the sunset in silence.

Both knew that her time was almost up, so they came here to fulfill her last wish.

Max absorbed every single detail of this scenery, from the orange circle, the glints of the sea surface, the seagulls flying by, and the gentle waves lapping the shore.

"Life… is hella strange… isn't it." Said Max, stealing Chloe's word.

"Yes… it truly is." Chloe answered, tears overflowing. "It's also fucking bullshit."

Weakly, Max looked to Chloe to see her falling apart. Instead of trying to stop her, she simply took her hand and allowed her to let it all out.

"I—I… I don't w—want you to…"

"I know. Me neither."

"I'm sorry, Max." She wiped her nose. "I thought I was ready for this, but I can't accept it. It's so unfair!"

"Chloe…"

The girl shook her head.

"Chloe, look at me."

Again, she refused until Max stroked her hair.

"I'll never leave you." Max said. "Even if I'm gone, I'll never be away from you, just like Rachel never left."

"I can't handle it. I don't how I can go on… losing so many people."

"You are gonna do amazing things, Che. Don't let all those losses weigh you down anymore. You are Chloe Elizabeth Price, the punk badass whose gonna bring the world to its knees so it can suck you off."

Chloe managed a half-hearted laugh. "I don't have a _dick_ , Max."

"No, but do you still have that dildo?"

"That's for _us_ only."

They broke out into laughter, the last one they'll ever share.

Afterwards, Max felt the feeling in her body whither, and slowly, she hover her head down onto Chloe's lap. She breathed deeply, making sure to savor every intake of air.

Her vision started to fuzz, her sight fading first. She squinted at the horizon, the sky getting darker and darker until finally, everything was pitch black.

The next to go was her hearing. The gentle breeze whizzed through her ears, along with Chloe's quiet sobs.

"I love you, Maxine Caulfield. I'll never forget you."

Those were the final words that ever reached her ears, and with her last breaths, she shared her own last words.

"You... deserve so much, Chloe. Don't let anyone tell you... any... different."

She didn't take another breath after that.

Chloe then proceeded to brush the girl's brown hair repeatedly, allowing her fingers to be the last thing she felt.

When enough minutes passed, Chloe released everything from her lungs as the realization sunk in.

Max, her best friend, her partner in crime, and her soul mate, was gone now. Solemnly, she reached down over her face to close her eyes, and then sat there, drained; she could not wail anymore.

There she sat, Max dead on her laps, both facing ahead at the day dying before them. They fulfilled what they wanted to achieve, which was a trip of a lifetime.

Remembering that they brought along their scrapbook as well, Chloe picked it up, opened it, and tearfully flipped through the pages of their album. There were more photos than she could count on every page, except the last one.

On the last page was a note to her.

 _Hey Chloe,_

 _I'm kinda shitty at writing letters, but I'll make this short as possible. You've been a wonderful companion throughout my life, even during our roughest times. It really sucks that our story has to end like this. I know you'll feel like you're alone and lost again. That doesn't mean we'll be gone forever. I know for sure that whatever happens in your life, Rachel and I will be watching over you from above. Please live, for me and yourself._

 _Love now and always,_

 _Max Caulfield._

 _XXXXXXXXXX etc._

Droplets of more tears stained the page and Chloe got choked up again. She shut the book and dropped it to the floor and finally threw out all her bottled emotions.

She wrapped her arms around Max while she was still warm and pressed her lips onto her head and rocked her like a baby, her whimpers drowning the silence.

"I promise." She finally said. "For both of you, I'll live on.

Calming herself again, a blue butterfly landed next to them, and Chloe inspected it. This was the same creature that symbolized their entire struggle. It seemed to look at her with curiosity for a moment before it then flew away.

Strangely enough, the remaining girl managed a smile and nodded in acceptance and she let her eyes rest. In her silence, she heard both Max and Rachel's voices whisper to her one last time.

" _Everything will be alright."_

 **THE END**

* * *

 **Author's Note: I'm sorry... I'm so sorry. I know there are alot of you who probably hate me right now. I don't blame you. This was the ending I always planned from the start, but as I progressed, I began to hesitate. I could have just ended it openly or had Max live in the end, but those didn't feel like the right ending for me. I am so grateful for the support you've all given me. All your reviews have inspired me to see this story through to the end. Now that it's over, please feel free to leave a review. I'm ready to take the heat. Thank you all!  
**


	21. Bonus One-Shot: Iridescent

**This is a standalone one-shot that take place after the events of the main story. It's not meant to be an additional chapter, but an additional insight to the story.  
**

* * *

 **Iridescent**

Chloe stood in the center of her trashed room like a half-alive vessel, facing the orange flow spilling from her window. Today, she had on a far cry from her usual style, which was a long slick dress that draped all the way down past her knees, and a pair of dress shoes and high leggings that were freshly bought; everything covering her body, including the sleeves that she chose specifically to hide all her tattoos, was inked in black.

Today was the day she would have to force herself to stand at Max's funeral and watch her get lowered into the earth, her final resting place, and she _dreaded_ it.

Clutching her bullet necklace in a rock fist, the bluenette fought hard not to let her grief overtake her. She didn't want to shed any more tears; too much, already.

* * *

Last week.

Soon after Max Caulfield passed away on her lap, Chloe took the blanket they brought along and carefully tucked it over the girl and patted her for some time, murmuring some cracked vague tune.

Her smile after reading Max's final note and seeing off the blue butterfly for the last time lasted momentarily before it faded back to obscurity.

Packing the journal, Chloe made sure Max's head rested against her shoulder as she scooped her up in a bridal hold to carry her all the way down the hill from the lighthouse, for this would be the last time she would ever be able to touch her.

The trek through the woods was slow and painful, each step heavier than the last, Max's weight putting soreness in her arms and forcing her back to hunch, despite how light she had become over the course of her deteriorating health.

"H—Hang in there, Max." She whined. "Just a little longer, please."

Chloe knew these words to be useless, yet she still wanted to talk to her beloved and hope that her voice can still reach her waned ears.

"I'm taking you back to your mom and dad, now."

The sun had almost gone down by the time Chloe reached the bottom where Max's parents were waiting for them with her wheelchair.

When Vanessa stepped forth and took one look at her covered daughter in Chloe's arms, she knew immediately that she was gone and fell against her husband, her uncontrollable sobs staining his check shirt.

"Oh my God, Ryan… she's gone." She wailed. "Our baby is GONE!"

"I'm so sorry." That was all Chloe could say to the two, for she knew how it felt to lose a family member. There was nothing else to console them with.

Eventually, Ryan came over to take his daughter into his own arms. Cradling her like a baby, he swayed left and right in the gentlest way while Vanessa kept touching their girl.

"She was the happiest I ever saw her." Chloe stated.

The Caulfields tearfully smiled at her, the father acknowledging with a nod.

"Thank you." Vanessa said. "Let's take her home now."

Chloe was quick to offer the extra helping hand. "I can carry her."

"No, please." Ryan waved to her. "You've done more than enough. We'll take it from here." His voice was barely a whisper.

Nodding back, Chloe lowered her head as the now bereaved parents turned away with Max's body and began their departure. Since neither of them bothered with the wheelchair, Chloe took it upon herself to take it away.

It was done now. It was all over.

* * *

 _How? How in the fuck will everything be alright?_

Chloe curled against the side of her bed, her nails piercing her temples while Max and Rachel's words looped in her head.

 _I don't wanna do this! I can't!_

She didn't want to go to the funeral to say goodbye to her best friend forever. She wanted to rip these funeral clothes off her skin; they felt like binds snaring her being.

And lastly, she wanted nothing more than to see Max again and hear her lovely voice.

Suddenly, Chloe hears a soft knock on her door, and she could immediately tell that it was her mother. She didn't bother to turn her head as Joyce entered her room and said nothing until she came over sat down next to her daughter.

"I'm not ready." She whimpered.

"None of us ever are, sweetie." Joyce put an arm around the girl to pull her close. "This is something you can never truly get used to."

"But this is _worse_. Worse than when I lost dad." Gasping for air, Chloe looked to her mother with sheening eyes. "We both knew this was coming, but it still fucking hurts! I loved her more than anything, including myself!" She pauses for a moment to let her eyes close to make her final point. "I guess that's the shittiest part."

Joyce wraps her other arm around to hug the poor girl. Neither she nor herself were strangers to loss, but even still… Max was far too young to go. The older woman couldn't bear to imagine what the Caulfields were going through. She even sought the vision of her own daughter, and what would have happened had Max instead chosen to let her die in that bathroom.

"Okay…" Chloe sighed. "I'm ready. Let's just get this over with."

Nodding, Joyce helped the young adult to her feet and guided her out of her room.

* * *

Chloe held her mother's hand like a little kid again as they waded through the entrance of Arcadia Bay Cemetery into the grassy plain where the rest of the town's residents lay. David had William in his arms, and the kid was unusually quiet; it had to be the mourning atmosphere.

For such a time, the sun shone brightly on all the gravestones, saturating its most prominent colours, including the trees and flowers scattered about.

 _Is God trying to cheer me up with this bright scenery? Because it's not working at all!_

At the top, Chloe saw Max's parents standing over her polished coffin, surrounded by an insurmountable number of people, many of them friends or neighbors who knew each other to come pay their respects; among the people standing closest to them, she spotted Kate, Victoria, Dana, Brooke, and various teachers and staff from Blackwell, including Principal Wells.

When Kate saw the Price family, she could only offer them a mild nod, especially to Chloe.

 _Did Max really attract this many people? Amazeballs!_

* * *

When everyone sat down, many attendees stepped up and put themselves on the spot to give their eulogies. This included many of Max's friends and teachers; Principal Wells, or simply _Raymond_ Wells, was the first of these numbers. To Chloe, he appeared to have lost some weight compared to how she last remembered him, yet his frame still remained large.

"I'll admit. I didn't know Max Caulfield very well, even though she was a student in Blackwell; back then, I was the principal. What I do remember was how quiet and mild-mannered she was when she spoke to others. She was a kind soul." Raymond swung his hands by his sides for a moment, maybe to catch his breath before continuing. His nose was even twitching slightly from the nervousness. "I do however recall a brave girl who stood up to help a friend in need when no one else did… including _me_. Even since, she hardly ever acknowledged her good deed. It was the greatest display of courage I ever witnessed from such a young girl. I hope she rests well."

Bowing to the applause, Wells removed returned to his seat next to his wife. Much to Chloe's surprise, the next person to take the stage was Victoria Chase.

She looked much different as well in appearance and demeanor. She wore less makeup on her face, her hair was longer, making it appear looser, and her physical language wasn't as stiff as it used to be. It was all told from the way her shoulders were slumped down and not stuck-up as before; it made her look somewhat approachable, but she had yet to open her mouth.

Chloe wondered what she possibly had to say for Max, knowing their history.

Victoria heaved in a deep breath fore she lifted her head to face the crowd. "Max and I didn't have a very good history when we were students. She was the shy hipster geek, and I was the Queen B, so that naturally made me antagonistic towards her." She paused, thinking whether she should go on; she was already up here, so she might as well finish it off. "Yet despite all that, she remained true to herself and inspired many other to follow her example." Her voice began to crack, and she looks to Chloe particularly. "I wish I could have done the same sooner and take back all the mistakes I made instead of trying to hold up a façade just to impress my friends." She looks next to Kate in the audience closest to her who gives her an encouraging nod. "So Max, if you can hear me, I want you to know that I'm sorry for everything, and that you're a true Everyday Hero." She pointed up to the heavens. "If it weren't for you, Kate Marsh wouldn't have become my closest friend."

This speech earned a bigger round of applause from everyone, especially Kate; even Chloe couldn't help but be moved and decided to give her a few claps as well.

Once Victoria took off, she immediately went over to give Kate a vise hug. Chloe could see from this image alone that her friendship with particular girl may have in fact changed her for the better.

With this, Victoria gave Kate the pat on the back, for it was her turn next. Chloe straightened up, eager to hear Kate's words.

The devout Christian made sure to stand as regally as possible and folded her hands together, carrying a warm aura. "Max Caulfield was a miracle to me. She was an uncommonly kind and loving friend. She wasn't afraid to stand up for others, even when the odds seemed against her. Most importantly, and I know I've said this many times but I'll never stop sharing this, she took my hand and pulled me back from the brink of death when no one else would. Ever since, her presence alone reminded me that the world hadn't ended." She holds up her little crucifix necklace to show everyone. "I'm so glad I got to have tea with her again. Wherever Max is now, her world hasn't ended, and nor has ours; God simply came to take her on a brand new adventure."

Tears broke out from Chloe's neutral face as Kate's words touched her; there was no doubt that Ryan and Vanessa were doing the same. Joyce and David, on the other hand, tried to remain strong for all of them, but even they couldn't guarantee their limits.

Kate then turned directly to the Caulfields to make her final statement. "You two raised a wonderful human being. My heart goes out to you, to Max, and all her loved ones, and in that, her heart will live on in ours."

That was it. Vanessa burst into tears and shot her the loudest round of claps before everyone else followed suit. Chloe was both cheering and crying with the same level of passion.

 _This… this is what she did. She left so much good behind that it's insane._

Chloe would have been _hella_ proud if she wasn't so grief-stricken, because then it was her turn.

Once the crowd was silent, Chloe stood from her seat, her shoulders bunched from the intensity. Joyce and David each patted her shoulders, giving her the power she needed to get up there to give her own eulogy. To her, it was funny; she had so many things about Max that could sink a ship, yet now she had the floor, they had become lost to her.

 _Where the fuck do I even start?_

Chloe shifted her gaze her parents, then to Max's parents, then to Kate, to Victoria, and finally, down to Max's coffin lying in front of her; this position she knew all too well, yet would never in her life get used to… _ever_.

Holding her silence for a little longer, she wipes the wetness from her eyes, though that could only do so much, and shuts her eyes to find her voice.

 _Everything will be alright._

Opening them again, she faces straight ahead to begin.

"How can I even describe Max Caulfield?" She shook her head, smiling lightly. "An Everyday Hero? My knight in shining armor? My partner in crime? My partner in _time_? The shy hipster nerd?"

Chloe puts a hand over her heart to face Max's parents, whom were both smiling at her.

"From my childhood until now, she had always been with me, even when she wasn't. Ever since we crossed paths, I could never get her out of my mind, even when I tried to. She was one of the many few who could handle whatever I threw at her while I was at my worst, and each that happened, I feared that I lost her forever. She made me smile like I haven't in years since I lost my dad. She taught me so many things about love and brought out the beauty that I never saw in myself before."

Catching another breath, Chloe edged closer to the coffin until she could almost touch it.

"Even in her last moments, when I took her up to that lighthouse overlooking the ocean, she still thought of others rather than herself. When I think about it, I was her polar opposite. As she gazed at the sunset, to her last breath, she told me to keep fighting the good fight and to never let anything else bring me down."

Finally placing her hand on the polished wood, she managed a warm smile.

"It's strange to hear these words coming from me, but I know deep down there is hope. Her last words to me were, _Everything will be alright_. In fact, she shared those words with Rachel. I'm sure they're up there smiling down on all of us. I want to believe them, I really do."

Now she looked directly to the coffin, as if to project her voice to the girl resting inside there.

"I'm very lucky to have had you not only as my best friend, but as my knight in shining armor, my partner in time, and my soul mate. I'm gonna live my life to the fullest until we see each other again. I love you, and I'm gonna miss you _so_ much."

When Chloe backed away from Max's casket, she pointed a finger to the sky, as if to salute her friend who could be watching her from the clouds. Ryan and Vanessa got out of their chairs to embrace her simultaneously. Joyce and David joined the huddle soon after while they received the strongest applause of all.

"You did wonderfully, baby girl." Joyce praised.

"Job well done, soldier." David followed up and patted her back one.

Breaking the hug, Chloe immediately turned to the swollen eyes of Max's parents and took the mother's hands in her own to provide some comfort. "If there's anything you need, I'm right here waiting."

"Thank you so much." Vanessa cried. "Your words really helped me."

Ryan took his wife under his arm again. "Right now, we need time to ourselves."

With a nod, the bereaved parents started away from the field, leaning on each other for support. Chloe was glad she got them to smile after such a devastating loss.

* * *

On their way to the car, an adorable voice stops her. "Chloe!"

She pulls her around to see Kate running over to her. The hair-bunned girl slowed down in front of her but then threw her arms around her neck; Chloe returned her comfort immediately.

"I'm so sorry, Chloe." Kate said. "I wish there was something I could do to ease your pain."

"Your speech helped alot, actually."

"Really?" She pulled away and raised a brow. "I wrote it all down and memorized it so I wouldn't screw up."

Chloe snickered. "I just made sh—things up on the spot." She watched her tongue, remembering that she was again in front of a devout Christian in a cemetery.

"You made all that _shit_ up?" Kate winked.

Chloe popped her eyes wide, shocked to hear such foul vocabulary come out of an innocent soul. " _Oh no, did I corrupt you?_ "

"Don't worry about that. Victoria loosened me up a little."

"So… you guys are actually _best friends_ now?"

Kate nodded with enthusiasm. "Yes."

"That's… awesome! She good to you?"

"Most of the time." Kate shrugged. "But I can put up with her _baggage_."

" _Tell_ me about it."

"But listen." Kate took Chloe's shoulder. "If you need anything at all, you can reach out to me."

Without saying another word, Chloe nodded gratefully.

At that moment, another blue butterfly flew right past between their faces, prompting them to follow the peculiar winged critter until it ascended to the heavens once more.

"What is with that damn _motif_?" Chloe remarked, shaking her head.

* * *

The following nights since the big funeral were especially difficult for the poor blue-haired girl. She would toss and turn or lay awake to have a smoke, for without the usual daily distractions, her mind would flutter about Max and Rachel, cruelly reminding her of how they weren't here anymore.

The worst part, however, was waking up the next morning. For just a split-second, she would forget in her numbness, and then the very next one after, those dreadful memories would come flooding back to her; it was like having her heart squeezed through a compressor over and over again.

There was just _no end_.

"Morning, Baymax." She would mutter to nobody. "Morning, Rach."

Chloe would coast through the days, keeping mostly to herself and not talking to either Joyce nor David unless she was spoken to; she'd even lost the enthusiasm to play with her little brother, whom she could swear was getting bigger and more talkative everyday.

One time, however, when she decided for once to help David with one of his many chores in the garage, she was finally starting to come undone.

David started to get worried as his stepdaughter insisted on holding her silence. He respected her space when she needed it, but also knew that sooner or later, she would have to exit that bubble to reenter the world.

Dropping what he was doing, David strode over to Chloe, who was busy hammering at a nail on a piece of wood, harder than he would have liked.

"Chloe." That was all he said before touched her shoulder.

Stopping her actions, Chloe dropped let the hammer loosen from her fingers. David grabbed the tool before it could plummet to the floor with a loud clang. Without losing his temper, David simply turned her around and let her be as he waited with patience.

With her head cast down, not wanting to look up at him, Chloe found herself losing control of her emotions. Her grief flooded her up inside, causing her chest and shoulders to hiccup and her lungs to pump frantically, ousting short rapid gasps.

This was what David wanted to see. He had waited for days for his stepdaughter to be ready to release her emotions and have her cry, her _real_ uncontained cry.

This was it. Like a balloon popping, Chloe allowed her anguish to explode out of her being as her knees weakened. David caught the girl as she collapsed and held her tightly as she screamed and wailed like a toddler having its worst temper.

"Let it out." David whispered. "Let it all out. It's okay."

"I—It's n—not… f—fair!" Chloe mumbled.

This breakdown lasted for nearly an hour, in which David refused to leave her until she went numb and was able to gather her pieces afterwards.

* * *

After another miserable week, something deep inside the young mature girl knocked at her chest, wanting to get out. It nagged and pulled her hair until she gave in at last. Enough was enough. She had to do something, _anything_ productive that would help her through her continued grief.

Remember her passion in art; Chloe felt like crafting her own masterpiece, a substance of her imagination that she could bring to life.

In the comfortable isolation of her room, Chloe stood before her plain canvas, ready to fill it with colours from her paintbrush and spray can. She didn't care if her skill weren't up to her expectations' standards as the only thing she had in her mind was…

 _Iridescent_.

Focusing on that one theme, she focused inwards and allowed her hands and wrists to take over as she got to work up a rhythm… a language… a message… a _symphony_.

She danced her brush and sank in her strokes.

 _Gold._

The shapes formed and defined themselves.

 _Blue._

The colours communicated as they sang aloud.

 _White._

The details etched in while the story told itself.

When she finished, Chloe let out a deep breath and admired her work, her masterpiece. For the first time in forever, she felt accomplished.

Suddenly, her phone resting on her dressing table buzzed. She put her equipment down and dashed over to pick up her smartphone to find Kate Marsh displaying on her screen. At first, she hesitated to swipe the answer button to the right, but then did so.

"Hi Kate."

"How are you holding up?" She was asked.

"I'm… doing better?"

"That's good."

A pause gapped the conversation before Kate decided to ask her the question.

"I was wondering, if you're okay with it, if you'd like to hang out with me and Victoria? Just to chill."

"Oh?" Chloe bounced between accepting and declining, and she didn't know why.

"Trust me, she's _totally_ cool with it!"

"Okay." Chloe answered with a hasty nod. "When?"

Chloe, feeling a renewed sense of joy and excitement, navigated out of the room to continue the conversation downstairs, leaving her room open.

What was left in the middle of the room, the stench of fresh wet paint filling the space, was a drying portrait of Max, Chloe, and Rachel, the grandiose trio, standing together in their astral forms while the faint aura of the doe loomed behind them.

Their faces were drawn with emotions of pain, happiness, and love, in their union.

* * *

 **Okay, so I felt like making this one-shot to give Chloe and the readers their proper closure without making things too sappy, I hope. Your reviews for Time Seizure made me so happy, and I am sorry for making you sad and depressed. I am well-aware that I'm being asked to do a happy ending where Max lives; I'm looking at you, AnnisaDwiPutri and Tell-Tale Man. There could be more to come from me yet, but we'll just have to wait and see.  
**

 **To one of my other guest reviewers, if you really want a story about Max being forced to control time by another unnatural force, you're very welcome to write that story yourself. That's how I got myself to write Time Seizure.**

 **To JustMe, I have in fact heard of Chrono Crusade. I do admit the similarities with that ending, but I didn't cross my mind at the time. I was mainly taking inspiration from one of my favourite movies ever, The Green Mile.**

 **Bourne-fiction, if you're reading this, I love you! While I didn't many reviews for my story for a time, you always kept posting me to keep it up, and I am grateful for that. I hope to see your review for this story.  
**

 **I especially want to thank cocosbokcs for pointing out my tenses, it really got me to monitor my writing onwards.**

 **Thanks to all my followers! I can't wait for your reviews! And please let me know how many of you want me to write an alternate happy ending to Time Seizure!**

 **I may do more of these one-shots when more ideas come to me.**

 **Love and Always, Kethereal.**


	22. Bonus One-Shot: William

**William**

By the age of four, William was already showing promise. Joyce, David and Chloe herself could watch with joy as the young man displayed wonderous bouts of skills and intelligence well beyond his years, and that was thanks to their parenting.

He would run around the house, make different sounds, and talk the chicken off the bone whenever he had the chance, which at time drove everyone crazy; his routine tantrums would of course force Chloe out of the house or into her own room that was kept for her until the mess cleared.

One time, while she layed in her bed, he would come in to disturb her, not that she minded. When Chloe saw his plushy face staring at her as he peeked through her doorway, she couldn't help but take in how adorable he looked, considering that his genes took mostly after _David_.

"Hey, William!" Chloe sat up, putting on the daintiest voice she can for him. "What can I do for ya?"

William pattered his little feet as he dashed over to climb up onto her bed and sit across her with that cheek smile.

"How come your hair is always blue?" He asked randomly, which was a trait of his.

"Excuse me?" Chloe gripped her hips with an eyebrow raised, trying to act perplexed.

"Mom and Dad's hair is never blue, so why is yours?"

Chloe quieted for a moment before answering. "A friend got me to do this. I thought it was hella stupid at first—."

"You swore!"

Chloe shot a finger over his mouth to shush him. "Sorry, please don't tell." When Will nodded, she continued. "So after some convincing, I decided to try it on, and it turns out I really liked it, so I've kept it ever since."

William reached over to touch his sister's locks. "What colour is your hair _really_ then?"

She rolled her eyes, hoping he wouldn't ask that. "I was a blondie."

To that, the boy laughed.

"What's so funny?" Chloe twisted her face into a cartoony frown, and then lunged at the kid with her long nail armed to tockle him. _"What is so funny!?"_

The poor boy shrieked in laughter as he tried to escape her grasp, but Chloe refused to let him go easily.

Finally, he hopped off her bed and ran back outside, Chloe right on his tail.

* * *

"Aargh! Your treasure will be mine!"

"Never! You will have to kill me!"

In their backyard, Chloe had her playsword up while William, wearing the eyepatch and captain's hat, played the role of the defending party.

"En garde!" Chloe yelled, and so they engaged.

As they duelled, William swung as hard as he could while Chloe casually parried his attacks but did her best to look like she was struggling against him.

"You'll never defeat me!" She taunted. "You're too _small_!"

"You should not have called me that!" William yelled.

Chloe turned around and darted, acting cowardly as the boy chased her around the small field until he managed to nick her leg with his own weapon.

"Shiver me timbres! My leg!" Grasping her leg, Chloe performed a dramatic fall to the ground before allowed William to 'impale' her.

She made a croaking sound as she fell back dead. Will then planted a foot on her belly and raised his sword to declare his victory. "I win! The treasure is mine!"

Chloe suddenly shot her head up, dropping her facade and she looked at him straight. "That's where you're wrong!"

Realizing what this meant, Will stepped off, and it was his turn to be chased by his sister and her _Ticklish Fingers of Death._

* * *

Chloe had grown so accustomed to playing with William that it earned her the trust of David and Joyce to babysit him while they were away.

Of course, that meant being left alone to suffer his tantrums and change his diapers with no means of escape as a way of paying her back when she tormented her own parents as a baby.

Sometimes, she would nearly break; she'd in these cases trap herself in her room while shutting him out so she could call her mother or stepdad for help. Most of the time, she had to resort to turning on the baby channels on their TV just to calm him down. Worse, she would have to sit with him and endure the boredom.

Still, these bad days never overshadowed their better moments, and it didn't stop her from loving her little brother any less.

His presence alone was enough to bring warmth and fill a void that had long been empty since... losing Max.

These days, she could remember her fondly without tearing up and breaking down, but deep down it would always hurt; Will, as well as Kate Marsh, helped to numb that pain.

* * *

Speaking of Kate, Chloe was able to have her spirits lifted whenever they either met up somewhere or chatted online. Despite the numerous years that passed, they managed to always keep in touch; this sweet innocent figure of faith turned out to one of her dearest friends.

Sometimes, their conversations would last _hours_ nonstop about the most trivial things they could think of.

This bliss, however, would cease whenever Kate would ask her the usual question. "How are you feeling?"

"Better." Chloe would always answer, sometimes the truth, yet other times a lie.

"So... you're still not seeing anyone?"

She shook, hiding her eyes from the camera so Kate couldn't see, but she could hardly ever be fooled, even through a blocky screen.

"Maybe you can try finding another person..." Kate's worry displayed very clearly for her friend.

"No." Chloe stated sharply. "Just, no." Her eyes return to the screen. "Not yet."

 _Still too soon..._

"I'm sorry." Kate apologized, meekly as always.

Chloe mustered a smirk and waved it off like it was no big deal. "Chill, it's cool. I'm glad you care."

"I'll always care, Chloe." Kate smiled to her. "You're my friend."

"Thanks." She nodded back.

It was then that the other girl decided to shift the subject. "How's William?"

Just as she was about to answer, William, right on queue, came bursting through her door to join her on the bed.

"Hi." He said while waving to the screen.

"Aww! Hi, William!" Kate waved back, her voice pitching up from the cuteness. "He's so adorable!"

"Are you Chloe's girlfriend?" He suddenly asked, causing both girls to jerk up before buckling with uncontrollable laughter; for Chloe, it was _half_ hilarious.

"No." Kate answered in between gasps. "But I'm trying to help her out."

Chloe had nothing to say to that.

"Shouldn't you be in bed?" Chloe interrupted; it was _past nine_ in the evening.

William just shook his head with a mumble.

"Young man!" David's commanding voice boomed from outside the room, and the man entered, glaring down both of them. "Why are you _not_ in bed right now!?"

Now shrinking out of fright in his pyjamas, William stepped off the bed and moved in a snail's pace toward his father, his shoulders bunched, Chloe watching the poor kid awkwardly.

When he got to the door, David seized him by the shoulder to pull him out and then pointed him back to his bedroom. "March! And _don't_ let me catch you out of your room again!"

He then shook his head at his stepdaughter and sighed before leaving the two girls to continue their talk.

"A moment of silence." Chloe was able to relate too well with Will's position, having been there herself too many times before, so she put a hand on her chest to give him just that.

"Looks like he also has a knack for getting into trouble." Kate commented.

Chloe could only agree with a hum.

* * *

On another occasion, Chloe was allowed to take little Wiliam to a quiet beach where he could freely stomp his feet into the wet sand where the calm waves of the sea always lapped.

The sun was always just right for them, for it was neither too hot nor too dim, the radiance bouncing off the rippling foams.

Thanks to David's strict swimming regime, William could play in the water with no trouble whatsoever, even when getting bowled over by those rare big curls that were thrown their way from time to time.

Together, they splashed each other without getting any salt into their eyes luckily. Another time, Chloe would balance him on her shoulders before he would jump off. On the sand, they helped to dig and big hole for Chloe to bury herself in until only her head remained unearthed.

Chloe wasn't always around for the family, but when she was, the two siblings were almost _inseparable_.

"I love you, little brother." Chloe said to him, a talking head. "You know that, right?"

* * *

One time of any day, William wandered into Chloe's open room, expecting to find her inside. Instead, what he found laying sprawled on her bed was an old canvas.

As he edged closer, he saw what was a painting of three peculiar girls in these strange unearthly forms; one of them had butterfly wings and long blue hair just like Chloe's. It interested him.

"Chloe!" He called for his sister as he exited the room to head downstairs.

His instincts led him to find Chloe sitting on one of the old swings in there backyard under the setting sky; her head was hunched, and she had her beanie on again.

With her back to him, he peered round to find her eyes drooped with a smoke in her hand.

Soon enough, when Chloe sensed her little brother approaching her, she hurriedly tosses the cigarette away and patted her clothes to make sure she didn't have that stench around him.

"Why are you sad?" William asked the older girl.

Chloe's eyes popped open for a moment, surprised at how observant he was for his age, but then tried to dismiss his worries.

"No, I'm not sad." She lied. "I'm just exhausted, that's all."

 _Actually, I'm fucking miserable._

Standing next to her, but quickly backing off from the smell of fresh burnt weed, he went on to his next question.

"Who are those girls in your painting?" Chloe jolted for a second time. "I found a picture in your room, and I thought it looked cool."

"Yeah..." She nodded, her face hidden from him. "Sorry that I smell, by the way."

"It's gross, but it's fine." William brushed it off, but still kept his distance as he waited eagerly for his sister to open up to him.

Sucking in a deep breath, Chloe removed her jacket and tossed it away to make herself smell less and patted the bench next to her. "Sit." She commanded.

William, not taking his eyes off her, sat on the swing next to her, swaying her legs.

"I have an incredible story to tell you about two special girls named Max Caulfield and Rachel Amber..."

* * *

 **Author's Note: Yeah, after introducing little William to the story, I felt like making a chapter centering around him specifically.**

 **Thank you, High Horizon! Your review was most satisfying and really made my day! It means alot to me!**

 **For those who are wondering, I've already started writing a story about the alternate ending called What Could Have Been. Go check that out if you want to feel better.**

 **In the meantime, feel free to leave a review! See you guys when I see you!**


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